Photographer: Leonardo Finotti | ArchDaily

Off the Mainland: Floating Architecture Projects Redefining the Built Environment

Susanna Moreira & Victor Delaqua — Fri, 03 Apr 2026 04:00:00 +0000

Building above water means doing away with a part of construction that is quite literally the basis of most of our built environment: the foundation. In a world dominated by water, currents, and shifting levels are variables that simply cannot be ignored, which is why the most emblematic feature these projects share is their adaptability.

Legacy in Matter: Material Traditions in South American Architecture

Daniela Andino — Sun, 08 Mar 2026 07:30:00 +0000

Across South America, architecture endures through the materials it uses, those that persist over time. Bamboo, brick, wood, and concrete appear across regions, connecting climate, labor, and culture in ways that ensure their persistence through generations. Their continuity does not depend solely on preservation or heritage. It depends on use.

Error 404: Architectural Memory in the Age of Algorithms

Diogo Borges Ferreira — Sat, 07 Mar 2026 08:30:00 +0000

Before the digital turn, architecture's memory was largely tangible. It lived in the weight of drawings, the patina of models, and the thickness of books. To preserve architecture meant to preserve its traces, the documents, sketches, and photographs through which buildings could be remembered long after their material form had changed or disappeared. The modern architectural archive, as it developed in the 20th century, was both a refuge and a device of legitimacy. Institutions such as the Canadian Centre for Architecture, Casa da Arquitectura, or the Deutsches Architekturmuseum were built upon the conviction that to preserve architecture was to preserve its documents.

Sacred Yawanawa Village / Rosenbaum

Andreas Luco — Fri, 13 Feb 2026 06:00:00 +0000

The project of the Sacred Village Yawanawá is not just a built ensemble; it is the materialization of a deep dialogue lasting 14 years between Marcelo Rosenbaum and Chief Nixiwaka Biraci Brasil.

Extreme Architecture: Challenges and Solutions in Inhospitable Environments

Eduardo Souza — Tue, 03 Feb 2026 04:00:00 +0000

"In various regions of the planet, nature imposes adverse conditions on the human body. In these places, designing a building is almost like creating a garment: an artifact that protects and offers comfort. This challenge requires technological performance that must be combined with aesthetics. Making human beings feel good involves more than just meeting notions of comfort and safety; it's also a question of working with spaces in their symbolic and perceptual dimensions." This is the beginning of the description for the design of the Brazilian Antarctic Station in Antarctica, by Estúdio 41, located on the Keller Peninsula, where the surrounding sea freezes for around six to seven months of the year, where everything and everyone arrives by plane or ship and the nearest hardware store is days away. If designing a building in normal circumstances already presents numerous complexities, it's not hard to imagine the additional challenges when developing something in an extreme environment, such as locations with very high or low temperatures, or in places susceptible to corrosion, radiation, and more. In this article, we will explore the difficulties, the main solutions and the materials used in these contexts.

Vicente House / MASA

Paula Pintos — Sun, 28 Dec 2025 15:00:00 +0000

Uncertainty as an Opportunity for Change. The pandemic affected—among other things—the way we relate to and inhabit spaces. The concepts of balance and stability were called into question. As a working hypothesis, we understood that instability would become a new form of balance.

Cia Marítima Store on Oscar Freire Street / Rosenbaum

Pilar Caballero — Sat, 27 Dec 2025 16:00:00 +0000

The architecture of Cia Marítima Store on Oscar Freire Street proposes a dialogue between the earth and sunlight. The building has two floors. The store is located at the level of the public sidewalk, where functional furniture blends with garden islands.

AquaPraça Floating Plaza / Carlo Ratti Associati + Höweler + Yoon Architecture

Pilar Caballero — Thu, 11 Dec 2025 12:00:00 +0000

AquaPraça, the floating cultural plaza designed by CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati and Höweler + Yoon, becomes one of the landmarks of the UN Climate Change Conference COP30 in Belém, Brazil. Following its unveiling in Venice in September during the Biennale Architettura 2025 in partnership with Italy's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Italy's Ministry of Environment and Energy Security, and COP30 Presidency, AquaPraça now serves as an integral part of the Italian Pavilion at COP30, the UN Climate Change Conference. AquaPraça was made possible through a unique international coalition, including the Italian Agency for Development and Cooperation, CIHEAM Bari, and the World Bank Group's Connect4Climate program, and with the support of BF International – Member of BF S.p.A. Group (as AquaPraça COP30 Naming Partner), Bloomberg Philanthropies, Costa Crociere, ENEL, and Gruppo Ferrovie dello Stato Italiane. AquaPraça was constructed by an Italian leading advanced steel construction Company, Cimolai. After COP30, Aquapraca will be donated by Italy to Brazil to become a community space for promoting social engagement on climate, cultural strategy, and creative industries in partnership with the State of Parà of Brazil.

Rethinking Prefabrication From Standardization to Design Freedom

Eduardo Souza — Tue, 02 Dec 2025 07:30:00 +0000

Once synonymous with monotony, “prefabricated” buildings often bring to mind the gray, repetitive housing blocks of the postwar era. But that image no longer fits today’s reality. Powered by digital design, robotics, and advanced materials, prefabrication has evolved into a language of innovation and precision. Far from uniform, it now enables flexible, efficient, and sustainable spaces that reflect the individuality of contemporary architecture.

Doca Linear Park / Natureza Urbana

Susanna Moreira — Tue, 02 Dec 2025 03:00:00 +0000

The regeneration of the Linear Park of Doca, located in Belém do Pará, arises as a strategic urban intervention that combines infrastructure, landscape, and memory to reconnect the city to its waters through the enhancement of public spaces. Established over the old Igarapé das Almas — now a canal about 1.2 km long in the central median of Avenida Visconde de Sousa Franco — the project recaptures the hydric identity that historically structured the Reduto basin and which, throughout the urbanization process, has been buried under fragmented and functional logics.

COP30 Outcomes for the Built Environment: From Sustainable Cooling to Climate Adaptation Commitments

Antonia Piñeiro — Tue, 25 Nov 2025 05:30:00 +0000

On November 21, 2025, the closing day of the 30th edition of the Conference of the Parties (COP) took place, the yearly gathering of United Nations member states to negotiate international climate agreements and assess global progress toward emissions reduction. This year, the event was held in Belém, Brazil, a port city of fewer than 1.5 million people, widely known as a gateway to Brazil's lower Amazon region. First convened in 1992, UN Climate Change Conferences (or COPs) are an international multilateral decision-making forum on climate change involving 198 "Parties" (197 countries, nearly all of them, depending on definitions of country, and the European Union). Their purpose is to assess global efforts toward the central Paris Agreement aim of limiting global warming to as close as possible to 1.5 °C above pre-industrial levels. The event brings together leaders and negotiators from member states, business figures, young people, climate scientists, Indigenous Peoples, and civil society around issues considered essential to that climate goal. This year, COP30 was marked by strong criticism of its ties to the fossil fuel industry, descriptions of agreements as fragile and insubstantial, and the struggle to move climate finance "from pledge to lifeline."

Canal Beach Nature Resort / Atelier Bugio

Susanna Moreira — Fri, 21 Nov 2025 06:00:00 +0000

The property, located in the Southwest Alentejo and Vicentina Coast Natural Park, features three main areas: a higher ridge area, a plateau area, and an extensive valley oriented northwest, extending all the way to the sea. The intervention stems from a thorough analysis of the territory with the aim of establishing a strong relationship with it, incorporating it without altering it. It is governed by a fundamental premise: to align the experience of the surrounding natural environment with the very experience of staying in the hotel.

Passive House / Mareines Arquitetura

Valeria Silva — Mon, 29 Sep 2025 15:00:00 +0000

Conceived in the isolation of the pandemic, the Passive House is a direct response to the desire for a simpler, autonomous life connected to nature. Designed by Mareines Arquitetura, the residence is situated on a large plot of land in the interior of São Paulo that underwent a process of reforestation, in partnership with the Vistara Landscape Architecture office.

Unfolding Privacy: Centering the Home Around the Courtyard

Diogo Borges Ferreira — Thu, 21 Aug 2025 07:30:00 +0000

Patio houses embody one of the most enduring architectural typologies, encapsulating the duality of openness and seclusion while nurturing a profound connection with nature. While the term is also used in contemporary American real estate to describe low-maintenance, single-story dwellings on small lots, its classic architectural meaning refers to an introverted design organized around a private, central courtyard. It is this traditional form, the subject of this article, that traces its origins back thousands of years. Patio houses emerged independently in various regions, responding universally to fundamental human needs: privacy, climatic adaptability, and spatial coherence. Despite diverse geographic and cultural expressions, the core principles of introversion, controlled openness, and environmental sensitivity remain remarkably consistent throughout the evolution of this typology.

Inaê House / MACh Arquitetos

Andreas Luco — Thu, 17 Jul 2025 15:01:00 +0000

Miners enjoy the beach and beach houses. Casa Inaê was built on Praia do Forte, Salvador, for a mining family of three siblings, six nephews, a matriarch, and many friends.

Building with Communities: Rural Schools That Integrate Local Techniques and Materials in Latin America

Agustina Iñiguez — Sat, 24 May 2025 07:30:00 +0000

In an effort to foster a sense of belonging among its inhabitants, to value ancestral cultures, and to preserve identity, the Latin American region embraces an architecture rich in nuances and regional characteristics. The use of local materials and construction techniques, or the dialogue between modular and vernacular approaches, among other aspects, reflect the intention to promote the involvement of native communities, students and their families, Iindigenous peoples, and local builders in the design and construction processes of a wide variety of rural schools throughout Latin America.

House of Amendoeiras / Play Arquitetura

Susanna Moreira — Tue, 20 May 2025 15:00:00 +0000

When we first saw the plot of land located in a condominium near Salvador, the first thing we admired was the presence of several large almond trees scattered throughout the area. Despite the neighbors' advice to cut them down due to the large amount of leaves that fall from them, our premise, along with that of the clients - a couple with one child - was to try to preserve the existing vegetation as much as possible.

Pietro Maria Bardi MASP Building / Metro Arquitetos

Pilar Caballero — Thu, 30 Jan 2025 15:00:00 +0000

The Museu de Arte de São Paulo Assis Chateaubriand (MASP) is going through a historic moment in its trajectory with the expansion that will culminate in the new Pietro Maria Bardi building. This project represents the museum's biggest physical leap since its installation in the iconic Avenida Paulista headquarters in 1968, designed by Lina Bo Bardi. METRO Arquitetos Associados, led by Martin Corullon and Gustavo Cedroni, is responsible for the architectural project in co-authorship with Julio Neves. This collaboration continues the longstanding relationship between METRO and MASP, which began in 2015 and has already resulted in significant interventions in the original building, such as the return of the glass easels, redesigned from the museum's original exhibition system.