France is investing in initiatives to combat climate change, including shifting to more sustainable modes of transport. Owners of older cars can now receive a government subsidy of up to 2,500 euros to trade in their vehicles for electric bicycles.
“For the first time, it is recognized that the solution is not to make cars greener, but simply to reduce their number,” noted Olivier Schneider of the French Federation of Bicycle Users.
The City Prosperity Index, CPI, set by UN-Habitat, evaluates urban prosperity according to five parameters as productivity, infrastructure development, environmental sustainability, quality of life, and equity/social inclusion. To a greater or lesser extent, these five factors are represented in the street pattern of every city in the world. Streets have multiple functions as the mobility of people and goods, the supply of energy, water, and information, the collection of waste, the growth of trees, plants, insects or birds, the shadow and sun radiation, the bench where to sit, the place to salute and talk with your neighbors, a playground, or the access to the bakery where you buy the bread. In this sense, streets are public and vibrant spaces, which can perform multiple functions and activities.
The rising popularity of mass timber products in Canada and the United States has led to a rediscovery of fundamentals among architects. Not least Indigenous architects, for whom engineered wood offers a pathway to recover and advance the building traditions of their ancestors. Because timber is both a natural, renewable resource and a source of forestry jobs, it aligns with Indigenous values of stewardship and community long obscured by the 20th century’s dominant construction practices.
Design experts from the leading global bathroom-solutions and kitchen-fixtures manufacturer talk customer-centric and inclusive design, sustainability, and their new digital-experience platform, GROHE X.
The term ergonomics was first coined in 1857 by the Polish scholar Wojciech Jastrzębowski, deriving from the combination of the Greek words ergon (work) and nomos (laws or rules). Although initially associated with the physical comfort of workers, today the term applies to a wide range of activities, from sports to leisure. It represents a set of guidelines and procedures designed to ensure both physical and mental well-being during any given task.
Awarded second place in the “Earth Architecture Competition,” organized by the NGO C-re-aid, the primary school in Moshi, Tanzania, designed by a team of students from the Federal University of Santa Catarina, aims to promote education and sustainability as a means of spatial and social integration within the local reality. Varying heights and lengths of the horizontal planter beds enhance safety in the school environment while maintaining its connection to the street.
The school unfolds from a central corridor that reveals various distinct spaces, allowing children to develop creatively and connect with their surroundings, according to the project's authors: Ana Luísa Schoenell, João Victor Ortiz, Julia Stopasolla Copat, and Mariana Bruggmann Spricigo Pfleger. The program is divided into blocks, with classrooms and services connecting to this central corridor to foster physical and visual integration across all spaces.
The project by IDOM and Rosan Bosch Studio for Markham College's primary school in Lima, Peru, proposes an open and flexible model designed to allow 750 students to continue their education even during a pandemic.
The book “The High Cost of Free Parking,” by retired University of California professor Donald Shoup, demonstrates that parking can impose a significant social cost. Shoup argues that the car-centric city model is irrational, allocating increasingly more resources and space to a machine that goes unused 95% of the time.
People are the purpose and scale of the city. What does a people-oriented city look like? On April 8, 2021, sponsored by "LIFE WEEK ", the first Sanlian “City for Humanity Award” Ceremony was held in Chengdu. It takes "Rebuilding Connections" as its first theme, and hopes to promote a discussion on social values and humanistic care in Chinese cities through a professional and communicative approach, such as awards at this special moment after the epidemic.
What is madness, and who is the subject that embodies it, the mad individual? What are the boundaries of normalcy, and how has it been dialectically constructed alongside the idea of sanity throughout history? What place does the mad subject occupy in society? To contemplate madness and its relationship to space—whether physical or social—it is essential to recognize the ethical and epistemic concepts that define it.
In our previous article, Why the New Do-It-Together (DIT) Architecture has Radical Potential, we uncovered a new practice that focuses on ‘we’, not ‘me’; celebrates collaboration, not competition; mobilizes human connections, not transactions.
Beijing Shengzhe Architectural Design Consulting Co., Ltd. (SZA) is a design team composed of architects passionate about architecture and urban design. Its core team consists of senior returned architects with excellent team spirit, rich management experience, and mature professional qualifications. The founders of the firm graduated from the School of Architecture at Tsinghua University. After pursuing advanced studies abroad, they worked for several years at KPF's New York office, where they were responsible for and participated in the design and planning of a series of international landmarks and key urban districts.
The Second Studio (formerly The Midnight Charette) is an explicit podcast about design, architecture, and the everyday. Hosted by Architects David Lee and Marina Bourderonnet, it features different creative professionals in unscripted conversations that allow for thoughtful takes and personal discussions.
A variety of subjects are covered with honesty and humor: some episodes are interviews, while others are tips for fellow designers, reviews of buildings and other projects, or casual explorations of everyday life and design. The Second Studio is also available on iTunes, Spotify, and YouTube.
This week David and Marina address the question, "What Does an Architect Do?". The two cover the responsibilities and tasks an architect undertakes during a typical building process from research to the initial design phases, design development, construction documentation, contractor selection, and construction. Enjoy!
The bathroom is an essential space for any type of construction. The Royal Spanish Academy defines it as "a room in a building with a sink, shower, bathtub, toilet, and other sanitary fixtures." This definition establishes that it is a functional space with a specific program, which, consequently, can be easily standardized. As these spaces have practically uniform dimensions, the installation of prefabricated bathrooms in various types of buildings is becoming increasingly common. These modular units serve as an excellent alternative when opting for a fast, cost-effective, and efficient construction method.
Imagining and experiencing alternative ways to understand the relationship between the human body, space, and the ideas that connect it to the world was one of the central themes that Hundertwasser brought to light. The Austrian artist and architect, born in 1928, dedicated much of his work to environmental issues, expressing his perspective through the theory of the five skins: the epidermis, clothing, the home, social identity, and the world. Due to its universality, this concept retains a contemporary relevance.
The Arquicast Interview series aims both to showcase the work of architectural practices from different regions of Brazil and to shed new light on established architects. Through casual conversations about daily professional life, behind-the-scenes insights, and stories behind their projects, it explores the personal experiences that have shaped their worldviews.
In this episode, the team speaks with Francisco Spadoni, from Spadoni & Associados Arquitetura. Founded in 1996 upon his return from Paris after working with Kenzo Tange, the firm is led by Spadoni and Tiago de Oliveira Andrade. The practice regularly participates in architectural competitions in Brazil and abroad, earning recognition in several of them. Their projects are characterized by confronting challenges and complexities across multiple scales, always from a reflective and critical standpoint.
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.
Glenn Howells Architects have won planning permission for a lakeside climbing center in Peterborough, England. The new Olympic standard climbing center aims to be a sustainable landmark for the 1,700-acre Ferry Meadows Park site. The center is made to be a central element of Nene Park Trust’s 2050 vision and 10-year masterplan. The indoor facilities are designed to complement the outdoor activities available across the Park.
There is a saying that ‘all good architecture leaks’. While likely not intended as an endorsement for water damage, this video takes the phrase seriously by playfully sorting through some of architecture’s greatest leaks. Frank Lloyd Wright was famously dismissive of the many unintentional leaks in his buildings, once telling Mr. Johnson to move his table if he didn’t like it getting rained on. However, there are a number of great intentional leaks throughout architecture as well, such as the entry hall of Peter Zumthor’s Therme Baths in Vals. The walls allow groundwater to seep in from the surrounding mountain while forming beautiful murals out of mineral deposits the water picked up while on its journey through the earth. Whether leaks are intentional or unintentional, they are an inevitable and important reality for architects. There should always be plans for the water that will get into our buildings and this video offers five humorous strategies for making those plans.
Paul Clemence has just released recent photos of Bjarke Ingels Group’s Spiral skyscraper, an under-construction 1,000 feet tall tower with a series of stepped landscaped terraces. Set for completion in 2022, the highrise that topped out in February of this year, is located at Hudson Yards in New York City.
You might not think of McDonald’s as the pinnacle of architectural style, but even the world’s largest fast-food franchise has taken some bold design risks. While the literal “secret sauce” has largely remained the same since the inception of the iconic golden arches, McDonald’s has had its fair share of experimentation and has even hired some of the profession’s most prominent names to put their own spin on the design of these restaurants- turning the repetitive and mundane into one of a kind experiences.
Barcode Architects and Tchoban Voss Architekten have landed the win of the Dresden City Public Administration Headquarters design competition. The proposed building will have a dynamic, three-layered façade that compliments Dresden's architecture and carefully embeds it with its surroundings. The 34,000m2 'Verwaltungszentrum' will be part of a larger urban transformation of the Ferdinandplatz, and is expected to be complete in 2025.
Designed by 3LHD Architects, the new campus for the Croatian electric hypercar manufacturer Rimac brings together a wide array of programs and spaces, from production plant and offices to kindergarten, dormitory and even a sheep meadow. Located in the outskirts of Zagreb, within a natural landscape, the Rimac Campus is organized around two main volumes that follow the site’s natural topography, with several accompanying facilities tucked underneath a green roof that stretches out, meeting the surrounding landscape.
Concéntrico, Logroño's International Architecture and Design Festival, has announced the winning proposals for their three open competitions in three locations in the historic center of Logroño, in Spain.
This edition of the competitions sought to create a Pavilion in the Plaza de Escuelas Trevijano and two interventions, one in the River Ebro walk and the other in Viña Lanciano by Bodegas LAN.
But you can browse the last one: 417
.jpg?1617308349 "Photo: Martin Abegglen from Bern, Switzerland, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons")
.jpg?1617308454 "Main facade of the KunstHausWien Museum by Friedensreich Hundertwasser (Vienna, Austria). Photo: Jules Verne Times Two / www.julesvernex2.com, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons")
