Cities are so deeply rooted in the history of mankind that we hardly ask ourselves why we live in them or what the reason is for us to group together in urban settlements. Ciro Pirondi, Brazilian architect, points out that we live in cities because we like to have someone to talk to, while Paulo Mendes da Rocha classifies the city as “the supreme work of architecture.” The city is the world that man builds for himself. These are immense collective constructions, palimpsests, and collages of stories, achievements, and losses.

Earth has been mostly urban since 2007. By 2050, the percentage of people living in cities should reach 70%. In the coming years, megacities with more than 10 million inhabitants are expected to multiply, mainly in Asia and Africa, and often in still-developing countries. Such a projection raises questions about sustainability and climate change that cities inevitably catalyze. It also raises questions about how cities can provide an adequate quality of life for its inhabitants, and how they can prosper and develop in contexts that are often not ideal. How can urban spaces benefit their population and vice versa? While old centers will require transformations and updates, city peripheries will require new homes and public facilities, in addition to adequate infrastructure. How can this process help urban centers become more intelligent, using the technology already available to benefit their inhabitants in a creative and efficient way?

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When we are discussing the definition of “structure”, the term varies within different disciplines. In the context of the built environment, "structure" refers to anything that is constructed or built from different interrelated parts with a fixed location on the ground.

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Videos

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Videos

The ongoing pandemic has been a disruption to the everyday routines of billions around the world, as due to being confined to their households, the separation between work and rest has become extremely blurry, with people forced to rethink and reconfigure the layout of their personal spaces. Conversations have abounded on how to create flexible working spaces in a home environment, and if offices themselves are an outdated model that we should leave behind. A missing part of that conversation, however, is the impact that the pandemic has had on children, specifically primary-school level children, on their education - as inequalities are emphasized, some children learning with slow internet connection speeds, or struggling to have the space required to adequately complete educational activities.

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Following an exciting week of nominations, ArchDaily’s readers have evaluated over 675 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.

The 2021 Building of the Year Awards China is brought to you thanks to Dornbracht, renowned for leading designs for architecture, which can be found internationally in bathrooms and kitchens.

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