Photographer: Delfino Sisto Legnani and Marco Cappelletti | ArchDaily

Architectural Grafting: A Strategy for Sustainable Design

Diogo Borges Ferreira — Fri, 01 Nov 2024 04:00:00 +0000

Architectural grafting, a concept recently popularized by Jeanne Gang in The Art of Architectural Grafting, presents a transformative approach to urban regeneration and sustainability. Drawing inspiration from botanical and horticultural practices — where new growth is added to existing plants for enhanced resilience — this architectural method integrates new structures with existing ones, allowing them to coexist and adapt. Rather than pursuing demolition, grafting prioritizes adaptation, extending the life of buildings while safeguarding their cultural and historical significance.

The Revival of Art Deco: Exploring New Designs and Preserving Existing Ones

Kaley Overstreet — Wed, 13 Sep 2023 07:30:00 +0000

Almost a century after the iconic aesthetic emerged, Art Deco is finally having its comeback. As seen in new projects, interior spaces, and furniture around the globe, the glitz and glam that makes us long for the Roaring 20s of the early 20th century is now giving us a small taste of the Roaring 20s revival in the 21st century. As the distinct identity of Art Deco architecture and design has continued to inspire the world, what can we expect from new designs, and the preservation of existing ones?

Tents: An Architectural Language

Matthew Maganga — Mon, 11 Apr 2022 04:00:00 +0000

It’s a ubiquitous architectural form. An architectural typology that spans centuries and borders, a staple across cultures. The tent. In its simplest form – it’s a shelter, with material draped over a frame of poles. It’s an architectural language that is intrinsically linked to nomadic living. Yurts, for instance, functions as an easily portable dwelling for the Kazakh and Kyrgyz peoples. At the same time, tents have proved a popular stylistic precedent for architects, the lightweight structures of German architect Frei Paul Otto being a case in point. The tent is a complicated architectural language – one that straddles the line between temporary and permanent, and one that also functions as a symbol of wealth and a symbol of scarcity.

Architecture's impasse in sheltering people affected by disasters

João Carlos Souza — Sat, 23 May 2020 14:00:00 +0000

Like the flight of a bird, a summer rain, ocean tides, lightning during a storm, or a prolonged drought, natural phenomena occur every day without our noticing. Yet, some draw more attention, such as volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, the emergence of a new virus, or major floods. Even so, if they occur in an uninhabited region and do not cause significant material damage, they remain merely natural phenomena. If, however, they strike populated areas, causing deaths, injuries, production disruptions, major financial losses, and displacement, only then are they considered natural disasters.

Emergency Architecture: Designers Respond to Crisis

Eric Baldwin — Thu, 26 Mar 2020 07:35:00 +0000

The COVID-19 pandemic has shown yet again how designers are needed to reimagine emergency shelters. With an estimated 900 million people around the world to remain at home because of the virus, there are also a number of hospitals without the necessary beds to treat infected patients. At the same time, the need for emergency shelters is tied to many types of crisis, not just this virus or a pandemic.

Building Boom: Qatar's Monumental New Architecture

Eric Baldwin — Tue, 10 Dec 2019 13:00:00 +0000

Qatar has been radically reshaped by growth and development. The sovereign state transformed since the second half of the twentieth century after the discovery of the Dukhan oil field in 1940. Capitalizing on over 70 years of economic development, Qatar now has the highest per capita income in the world. Reflecting the country’s wealth, its modern architectural projects are being built at a monumental scale.

Galeries Lafayette Champs-Èlysèes / Bjarke Ingels Group

Martita Vial della Maggiora — Tue, 04 Jun 2019 11:00:00 +0000

Located on Paris’s iconic Avenue des Champs-Élysées, the historic Art Deco bank building from 1932 is uncovered by BIG-Bjarke Ingels Group to create a carefully curated retail laboratory for the world’s leading fashion, food, and lifestyle brands — merging a new hybrid retail model that bonds with the surrounding city.

The First "Maidan Tent" is Built to Aid Refugees in Greece

Niall Patrick Walsh — Tue, 13 Nov 2018 11:00:00 +0000

In an effort to aid the plight of refugees around the world fleeing war and persecution, two young architects in 2016 embarked on a project designed to improve the mental health of refugees in camps. Led by Bonaventura Visconti di Modrone and Leo Bettini Oberkalmsteiner, and supported by the UN International Organization for Migration, “Maidan Tent” allows refugees to benefit from indoor public space – a communal area to counteract the psychological trauma induced by war, persecution, and forced migration.

BLOX / OMA / Ellen Van Loon

Diego Hernández — Mon, 07 May 2018 10:13:00 +0000

The BLOX project, home of the Danish Architecture Center (DAC), contains exhibition spaces, offices and co-working spaces, a café, a bookstore, a fitness centre, a restaurant, twenty-two apartments and an underground automated public carpark, but it is not the acrobatic mixing of uses that defines this project; its ultimate achievement is in ‘discovering’ its own site.

Fondazione Prada Torre / OMA

Diego Hernández — Thu, 19 Apr 2018 09:00:00 +0000

The 60-meters high Torre is realized in exposed white concrete. The new building further develops the repertoire of different exhibition conditions that together define the architectural vision of the foundation, characterized by a variety of oppositions and fragments.

Qatar National Library / OMA

Diego Hernández — Tue, 17 Apr 2018 08:05:00 +0000

The Library by Rem Koolhaas
The physical impact of books has been important in terms of my entire formation. The first books that fascinated me were the fairy tales of Grim illustrated by Gustave Doré. I still remember the physical nature of those books as one of the strongest memories of my entire life. In the 1950s I would spend time in the library of the Stedelijk Museum – almost like in a living room. My first intersection of writing and architecture was Delirious New York, which I wrote in the New York Public Library, going through microfilms, old newspapers, and books. I made one particular seat my own, almost day and night.

15 Facades That Push Conventional Limits: The Best Photos of the Week

María Francisca González — Sun, 12 Nov 2017 12:00:00 +0000

New technological developments in construction have given architects great freedom when designing. Innovations in construction materials and their properties allow for the creation of increasingly original and surprising facades. The buildings constructed as a result can even inspire people to travel thousands of kilometers just to see these masterpieces. This week, we present 15 of most ground-breaking facades through photos by prominent photographers such as Paul Ott, Peter Bennetts and Laurian Ghinitoiu.

OMA’s Rijnstraat 8 Redesign Brings Transparency and Light to a Government Building in The Hague

Wahyu Pratomo & Kris Provoost — Thu, 09 Nov 2017 09:30:00 +0000

In addition to their videos, #donotsettle’s Wahyu Pratomo and Kris Provoost tell extended stories about the buildings they visit through an exclusive column on ArchDaily: #donotsettle Extra. In this installment, the duo brings you to the newest design by OMA, Rijnstraat 8 in The Hague, The Netherlands. Saskia Simon and Kees van Casteren from OMA explained the architecture of Rijnstraat 8 to #donotsettle while touring the building.

RIJNSTRAAT 8 / Ellen van Loon / OMA

Fernanda Castro — Thu, 02 Nov 2017 09:00:00 +0000

Rijnstraat 8, the renewed government office building housing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management, the Central Agency for the Reception of Asylum Seekers and the Immigration and Naturalistation Service, was officially opened by the Dutch King yesterday. A Public Private Partnership under the name of PoortCentraal, consisting of BAM, ISS and OMA, has renovated and transformed the 90.000 m2 building located next to The Hague's central station, giving it a second life as a modern and transparent working space for the Dutch government.