The UN-Habitat Urban Lab has published “My Neighborhood,” a publication that offers a checklist of urban design principles aimed at creating more sustainable and resilient cities. Containing actions that are applicable at the neighborhood scale, the guide strives to present an integrated approach that responds to key sectors such as transportation, local urban initiatives, housing, public spaces, utilities, and more.
The interior design of gastronomic premises is becoming increasingly important due to the demand for improvement in the areas of competition, customer experience, and brand identity. The ability to adapt to current trends and needs is a point that Argentinian architecture and interior design professionals have been facing with innovation and flexibility in the use of materials, colors, and textures.
Dwellings can be understood as the most significant and primary form of architecture, as the house is intimately related to the idea of shelter, one of humanity’s basic needs. In the words of architect Mario Botta, “As long as there is a man who needs a house, architecture will still exist.” Yet, in spite of its ubiquity, or perhaps because of it, an exact definition of a home is difficult to find. Throughout history, different functions and spaces have been added and subtracted from this unit, reflecting directly the character of the society that produced it.
The list of expectations that a house has to fulfill is long and ever-evolving: to provide intimate and safe spaces where one can recharge their energy, but at the same time to allow for interaction, welcoming friends and family to join in; it is the purveyor of leisure and relaxation, but also the site of most labors of care, while also providing a small incubator for starting entrepreneurs. This tendency to demand a residential unit to fulfill multiple roles was heightened to unprecedented levels during the pandemic. Health concerns led to the closing of most workspaces, the second place where people spent most of their time, and of cafes, restaurants, cinemas, and malls, the “third places.” Suddenly, the home had to become an all-purpose space.
With a high proportion of white mixed with a small amount of colorful pigments, pastel colors provide a range of pale, subdued tones. Related to soothing and calming environments, these colors have a timeless quality and can be seen throughout different architectural styles, such as rococo, art déco or the mid-century modern years. Applied in exteriors, interiors, or both, pastel tones make rooms feel more light, airy and spacious.
From subtle accents to taking the spotlight in a project’s overall strategy, pastel colors are a versatile alternative that can be used in multiple ways and varying degrees. Following Ricardo Bofill’s color proposals, Paulo Mendes da Rocha’s interiors and Michael Graves’ buildings, contemporary architecture plays with soft colors for aesthetic and functional purposes, as well as providing a sensory experience. Analyzing different examples of their application in architecture and design, we showcase how four prevailing colors –mint green, pale pink, lemon yellow and light blue– are currently taking the stage.
As trivial as the act of flipping a switch and lighting up a room may seem, we've had to come a long way to have safe and reliable light sources. It is estimated that the first lamps were invented 70,000 years ago, consisting of hollowed out stones or shells filled with an absorbent material soaked with animal fat that could be ignited. The Egyptians, on the other hand, used decorated ceramic vessels filled with oil, which provided a constant flame. Candles were popularized during the Middle Ages, made of tallow (animal fat) or beeswax, and could be burned in simple candlesticks and chandeliers. It was in the late 19th century that Thomas Edison and his team invented an incandescent light bulb that could be mass manufactured and was economically viable, soon becoming the dominant form of lighting for much of the 20th century. Although it was a revolutionary invention at the time, we are now aware that these lightbulbs are not very efficient, and they were eventually replaced by fluorescent and, more recently, LED bulbs. But if we have already advanced so much in such a short time, what can we expect for the future of lighting, and more specifically, how will our interiors be lit in a few years or decades?
