A healthy environment that is also visually appealing in our homes has become increasingly sought when it comes to designing houses and residential spaces, especially during the world’s current context. One of the most successful ways of achieving this is through a thoughtful design of the landscape that complements the built project. The art of landscaping is the arrangement of nature’s raw material elements, like vegetation and planting, combined with nonliving elements, such as exterior structures, paving, and decking, in order to create site-specific solutions that enhance the exterior spaces of a project.
Due to its ability to mold and create different shapes, concrete is one of architecture's most popular materials. While one of its most common uses is as a humble foundation, its plasticity means that it is also used in almost all types of construction, from housing to museums, presenting a variety of details of work that deserves special attention.
Check out this collection of 40 projects that highlight the use of concrete. Impressive!
Most of us use stairways every day, but few times do we stop to contemplate their design or put much thought into their function. With their steps, treads and railing, they are easily one of the most fundamental architectural elements in any home. Apart from providing a safe, simple and easy access from one floor to another, it is through staircases that architects create unique spatial forms and strong visuals. From afar, one can observe people moving up and down repeatedly; from within, the user is treated to new angles and ways to perceive a space. Therefore, good staircases are more than just means of vertical circulation. Through their might and scale, they can become the protagonist of a space – a design focal point that rises to the level of art. In this article, we present their versatile characteristics and material qualities through a selection of inspiring examples, all of which can be found in Architonic's 'Staircases' section.
There are two main reasons why boat windows are round. They are easier to seal and, above all, more resistant to the high pressure that water exerts on them. This is because living corners are places where tensions are naturally concentrated, weakening the structure as a whole. This is also why aircraft windows are small and round; high pressures are better distributed in curved shapes, reducing the likelihood of cracks or breaks.
In architecture, circular openings are quite old. The Oculus, a type of circular window, has been a feature of classical architecture since the 16th century. Also known by the French expression oeil de boeuf (bull's eye), circular or semi-circular openings are formed from the construction of masonry arches, which allow for the creation of openings only by locking the constitutive pieces. Over time and following the incorporation of new technologies and development of construction knowledge, creating rectangular openings in buildings has become easier, more efficient, and cheaper than creating round ones. However, these circular windows still continue to figure in a multitude of projects.
It is difficult to start any retrospective text on 2020 without sounding too cliché. While facing an invisible enemy that changed everyone’s lives, this past year has taught us that humanity is more fragile than we ever imagined. At Archdaily, it’s our job to synthesize how the buildings and the world we live in will be impacted by COVID-19 not only in the short term but in the distant future as well. Has our perception of the built environment changed this year? And has our relationship with the tectonics of buildings changed with all of the obstacles we’ve faced along the way?
The incorporation of the human figure is one of the most effective tools used in architectural photography: it helps the viewer decipher the scale of work and assess its amplitude. While it successfully communicates a rough idea of the measurements of the elements in the picture, it also helps architecture become more relatable and accessible. People engage better with the built environment when it is populated, mainly because the human sense of society and community is the cornerstone of our civilization. With this in mind, we are showcasing a selection of our favorite photographs where the human figure takes center stage, enhancing our reading of architecture.