Fernando Guerra | FG+SG
Fernando Guerra has been a pioneer in the way architecture is photographed and divulged. Fifteen years ago, he opened studio FG+SG together with his brother, and both are responsible in large part for the diffusion of Portuguese contemporary architecture in the last fifteen years.
House in Baião / Traço Alternativo Arquitectos Associados
3D Printing, Prefabrication, and Interior Design: Construction Trends for 2022
Jorge Drexler sings, in one of his songs, that “we always look at the river, contemplating the other riverbank”. Beyond understanding everything that was done, looking back at the past year can serve to get some clues about the future. This 2021, we published more than 160 articles in the Materials & Products section, covering a wide range of topics. From complex concepts such as 4D printing or very little processed materials such as hempcrete and bamboo, drawing a retrospective of the covered themes and understanding what interested our readers the most is an interesting exercise to foreshadow some trends in the future of the construction field. Looking at our most viewed articles, three large themes are evident: 3D printing, pre-fabrication, and interior renovation. Below, we present a compilation of each topic, reflecting on what we can dare to say about the trends in the construction industry that should consolidate in 2022.
What Is Soundscape and What Does It Have to Do with Architecture?
At the Four Seasons restaurant in New York, designed by Philip Johnson and Mies van der Rohe in the iconic Seagram Building, a rectangular pool played the leading role in the space, highlighted by four trees planted in pots at each of the vertices. The soft noise made by the water became consecrated. In addition to giving the hall some personality, it served to absorb the sounds of conversations (often secret) among tables. Just as the way that light enters a space, or how interior landscapes are perceived, sound is one more characteristic of an environment, though it is generally overlooked by architects. This goes beyond providing it with efficient acoustics, but creating a sound atmosphere for a space. This is the concept of soundscape.
How to Improve Lighting in the Workplace
People spend hours at work every day. Offices still fail to recognise the difference lighting can make to their workspaces. Lighting is an important matter when talking about visual comfort and productivity. Optimized lighting can help to improve performance and there are determined practice guidelines on which lighting systems work best for your work environment.
School Casa da Árvore / Contaminar Arquitetos
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Architects: Contaminar Arquitectos
- Area: 274 m²
- Year: 2020
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Professionals: Irmãos Couto e Coito Lda, Dimeng, Leiricanal Instalações Técnicas Lda, Socilux
Vortex Student Housing / Dürig AG + Itten+Brechbühl AG
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Architects: Dürig AG, Itten+Brechbühl AG
- Area: 32089 m²
- Year: 2020
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Professionals: Carouge, Itten+Brechbuhl AG
Taboadella Winery / Carlos Castanheira
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Architects: Carlos Castanheira
- Area: 3728 m²
- Year: 2020
N70 NIU House / Fran Silvestre Arquitectos
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Architects: Fran Silvestre Arquitectos
- Area: 75 m²
- Year: 2021
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Manufacturers: Louis Poulsen
Ribeira 11 Apartment Building / Ricardo Carvalho + Joana Vilhena
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Architects: Joana Vilhena, Ricardo Carvalho
- Area: 1112 m²
- Year: 2019
How to Design the Perfect Acoustic Enclosure: Comfort in Flooring, Ceilings, and Walls
As our cities densify and building types become more and more mixed-use, we tend to spend a lot of time in noisy environments. When we think about acoustic comfort, we rarely think of places like restaurants, venues, and big offices; places with a lot of people, machinery, and background noise. The quality of sound can entirely change the experience of people in an interior space, and improving the space's acoustic quality relies on treating all surfaces, from walls to ceilings, and flooring. In this article, we will present a variety of solutions for ceilings, flooring, and walls, their different combinations, and a simple guide of how to apply them correctly in public spaces without compromising the aesthetic of the interior.
Residência de Estudantes Santa Apolónia / Pereira Miguel Arquitectos
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Architects: Pereira Miguel Arquitectos
- Area: 5053 m²
- Year: 2020
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Professionals: LNM Engenharia Civil, Sustentável
Can Green Roofs Make Our Cities Better?
Researchers credit the Hanging Gardens of Babylon as the first examples of green roofs. Although there is no proof of its exact location and very little literature on the structure, the most accepted theory is that King Nebuchadnezzar II built a series of elevated, ascending terraces with varied species as a gift to his wife, who missed the forests and mountains of Persia, their local land. According to Wolf Schneider [1] the gardens were supported by brick vaults, and under them, there were shaded halls cooled by artificial irrigation of the gardens, with a much milder temperature than the outside, in the plains of Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq). Since then, examples of green roofs have appeared all over the world, from Rome to Scandinavia, in the most diverse climates and types.
Nevertheless, inserting plants on roofs is still viewed with suspicion by many, as they are thought to be costly and difficult to maintain. Others, however, argue that the high implementation costs are quickly offset with savings in air conditioning and especially that occupying the building's fifth façade with vegetation is, above all, a rational solution. In any case, the question remains as to how green roofs can really help with climate change.
Estoril RM House / João Tiago Aguiar Arquitectos
Re-evaluating Critical Regionalism: An Architecture of the Place
In his 1983 now-classic essay Towards a Critical Regionalism, Six Points of an Architecture of Resistance, Kenneth Frampton discussed an alternative approach to architecture, one defined by climate, topography and tectonics, as a form of resistance to the placeness of Modern Architecture and the gratuitous ornamentation of Postmodernism. An architectural attitude, Critical Regionalism proposed an architecture that would embrace global influences while firmly rooted in its context. The following explores the value and contribution of Frampton’s ideas for contemporary architecture.
1000m2 Prefabricated Housing / SUMMARY
Tipografia do Conto Hotel / Pedra Líquida
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Architects: Pedra Líquida
- Area: 514 m²
- Year: 2019
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Professionals: Amplitude Acoustics, Platanus, AB PROJECTOS, GET Gestão de Energia Térmica, R2 Design