This year, architecture’s highest honor, the Pritzker Prize, has been granted to Grafton Architects, a Dublin-based architectural firm mainly ran by female partners Yvonne Farrell and Shelley McNamara. For the first time ever in its 42-year history, due to the constraints set by Covid-19 global pandemic, the organizers of the Pritzker Prize decided to use Livestream the award ceremony. Having reached the end of 2020, ArchDaily has summed up what current and previous Pritzker Prize winners have accomplished during this turbulent year.
Dallas is home to a high concentration of structures by world-renowned architects. With some of the most iconic architecture per square mile of any American city, Dallas boasts designs by six Pritzker Prize Laureates, all within close distance to the up and coming Arts District. From Norman Foster’s Opera House to Thom Mayne’s Museum of Nature and Science, these projects are emblematic of a larger city-wide design culture.
Plataforma de Mergulho ICEBERG / Bulot+Collins. Image Cortesia de Bulot+Collins
The aquatic environment has always fascinated dreamers and researchers. Around 1960, in the midst of the fierce space race of the Cold War, French explorer Jacques Cousteau developed equipment such as the Aqualung to unravel the depths of the sea, which remained as unexplored as outer space itself. He even stated that in 10 years we could occupy the seabed as “aquanauts” or “oceanautas,” where it would be possible to spend long periods extracting mineral resources and even growing food. Sixty years later, the seabed is still reserved for few, and mankind has been more concerned with plastic in the oceans and rising sea levels than colonizing the ocean floor. But being close to a body of water continues to attract most people. Whether out of interest or in response to risks of flooding and over-population, some have turned to utopian proposals and floating architecture, examples of which have been featured in the ArchDaily project archive. But what are the fundamental differences between building houses on land versus on water, and how do these buildings remain on the surface rather than sinking?
San Luis Potosí has become one of Mexico's busiest destinations for both national and international tourism. Thanks to a population boom throughout the state, Mexican architects have dedicated themselves to designing residential, cultural, and recreational buildings that highlight the region's architectural style and traditions. In this article, we present a few of these projects to illustrate a portion of Mexico's vibrant and varied architecture.
Sinaloa is a state located in the northwestern part of Mexico bordered by the states of Sonora, Chihuahua, Durango, Nayarit, and by the Gulf of California to the west. It consists of over 58200 km² of territory and is the agricultural hub of Mexico.
During the first half of the 2nd century AD, one of the most important buildings in the history of Western architecture was erected in Rome: the Pantheon. Its main and most impressive feature is its coffered concrete dome, which ends in a perfectly round central opening. This oculus kicked off a series of later projects that noted the value of circular openings, which were replicated as glazed skylights and as compositional elements on facades. This eventually evolved, for example, towards the detailed and colorful rose windows of the Gothic basilicas. In all its configurations, the oculus (eye in Latin) holds a symbolism that goes beyond the traditional window: its luminous projection gracefully marks the passage of time, solemnly highlighting an architectural space.
With over 280k followers on Wechat, a Chinese social media platform, ArchDaily has become the most influential architectural media across the Chinese community. Throughout 2020, more than 9.2million audiences has gained insights on the architectural news from all around the world via the official account named 建日筑闻(ADCNEWS). With restriction of buiding residential houses in China, the Chinese audience shows strong preference towards cultural architecture and urban renovation. As a review of the most popular projects we post in 2020, we've round up the 10 most shared projects on our Chinese platform in 2020.
https://www.archdaily.com/953865/the-10-most-shared-projects-in-at-adcnews-wechat-in-2020Milly Mo
Despite all the hurdles and the pain, 2020 did not fail us in terms of content. Reacting to the global situation, ArchDaily's team of editors has tackled all the pressing issues that occurred this year and influenced the worldwide state of turmoil. While the whole planet was on pause, these writers were in search of critical substance, seeking to produce exclusive editorial pieces that highlight present-day topics and concerns. Generating articles in 4 languages, English, Spanish, Portuguese, and Chinese, this group of diverse individuals provided both local and global perspectives, reaching everyone that “talks architecture”.
Aspiring "to empower everyone who makes architecture happen to create a better quality of life", ArchDaily’s selection of best articles is the result of many aspects. Some of the choices explored distinctive subjects while others were very well-received among our readers. Emphasizing its academic standards, our platform focused its efforts on covering a vast range of ideas, from the consequences of the pandemic on the built environment, cities and their transformations, technical expertise and material specifications, to artificial intelligence and the future.
Architecture school is a place of experiment and a testing ground for innovative ideas. The academic work and student projects can bring to light the focus of an entire career, shape the backbone for an architectural theory, and crystalize values. How do their studies and formative years reflect on the later work of different architects? Taking a journey along decades, we explore the transition from architecture school to practice, the reverberance of academic explorations and early projects in the work of several architects and practices, highlighting the different pivotal steps that have shaped the beginning of their architectural journey.
If a person were to imagine a setting of complete relaxation, odds are the first image that comes to mind is a place surrounded by nature, be it a forest, the mountains, the sea, or a meadow. Rarely does one imagine an office or a shopping mall as a source of comfort and relaxation. Still, the majority of people spend almost 80-90 % of their time indoors, going back and forth from their houses to their workplaces.
Architects and designers are now searching for design solutions that will resonate well into the future, turning to 'biophilia' as an important source of inspiration that promotes well-being, health, and emotional comfort.
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.
While concrete is without a doubt the world's go-to building material thanks to its durability, malleability, and ability to withstand a wide range of climates, it is also the principal source of CO2 emissions within the realm of construction. To combat this and reduce their creations' carbon footprint, many architects have begun experimenting and innovating in a bid to optimize concrete's technical qualities while diminishing its impact on the environment. Among these efforts, there are several projects that have explored the possibility of replacing traditional frameworks with more sustainable materials like bamboo, a resource that grows in abundance throughout many regions of the world and, along with having minimal environmental impact, renders high quality textured detailing on a variety of architectural surfaces.
The architecture of diplomacy balances security and openness. As symbols of protection and representation, embassies are built for utility in both urban and rural contexts alike. At their core, they are also made to communicate the values and ideals of nations as welcoming structures and sustainable civic spaces. Today, modern embassy projects are made to meet rigorous security standards while embracing local culture and conditions.
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