On June 24, 2026, a severe seismic event consisting of two major earthquakes with magnitudes of 7.2 and 7.5 struck north-central Venezuela just 39 seconds apart. The widespread destruction was concentrated along the country's northern coast, heavily impacting the capital city of Caracas and the neighboring state of La Guaira, where fragile urban infrastructure and vulnerable housing stock led to the collapse or severe damage of thousands of residential structures. This disaster mirrors previous devastating events observed during other major seismic events, including the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake and 2011 landslides in Sichuan, the 2014 Ludian earthquake in Yunnan, and the 2017 earthquake across central Mexico. When high-magnitude natural disasters damage entire communities, architects have the opportunity to help by proposing post-disaster architecture with strategic recovery models. Rather than relying on generic, standardized emergency shelters, conscious architectural design can deliver low-cost, rapidly deployable residential infrastructure that preserves human dignity through culturally contextual and dignified spaces.
Invenção da cor by Hélio Oiticica. Image via Carlos Reis Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0
Many of the spatial ideas we now associate with contemporary architecture, collective use, and bodily experience did not originate in buildings alone. In Latin America, these ideas were often explored first through art, at a moment when artists were actively questioning how space could be occupied, shared, and experienced beyond traditional forms.
During the mid-20th century, the region underwent rapid urbanization and profound social change. Architecture was increasingly expected to respond to public life, collectivity, and new ways of inhabiting space. At the same time, art offered a more flexible ground for experimentation, one less constrained by function, regulation, or permanence. As a result, many spatial questions were tested through artistic practices before becoming part of architectural thinking.
Today, architecture has become - or is in the process of becoming - more flexible and individualistic to accommodate people's diverse lifestyles and spatial needs. With this adaptation, the residential typology has changed and living rooms have become endangered. Many insist on the need of having a space dedicated to relaxation and leisure, while others claim it is simply a waste of space and money. This debate raised an important question: do we still need living/sitting rooms? In this interior focus, we will look at how living rooms evolved through the years, and how architects readapted and integrated the concept of “gathering space” in contemporary residential architecture.
Although the use of color can be employed to hide or disguise a specific characteristic, it can also be used to highlight them. Within the Latin American territory, we can observe that shades of red, green, and blue have predominated in residential architecture, aiming to integrate a language appropriate to the context in which it is implemented.
Sayulita is a small beach town in Nayarit, a state located in the western region of Mexico. It is a locality of about 3,390 inhabitants that has grown significantly in the last decade due to tourism, mainly from the United States and Canada, who are attracted by the landscapes and waves that have made it one of Mexico's main surfing destinations.
Small homes are a common reality in many urban areas around the world for various reasons. These homes made up of small houses or compact apartments, have become increasingly popular due to the shortage of land and high housing prices in urban areas. Although their size may be limited, contemporary architecture practices focus on intelligent designs to maximize available space and offer comfort to their inhabitants. They often offer efficient layouts, with multifunctional areas that adapt to needs. In addition, some of them integrate innovative design and furniture solutions to optimize space and provide additional storage.
Art Deco is an artistic and design style that emerged in Europe in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, reaching its peak in the 1920s and 1930s. Although it's difficult to identify a single origin for Art Deco, it's believed that the style developed as a reaction against the Arts and Crafts and Art Nouveau movements, which emphasized craftsmanship and naturalistic ornamentation. The style quickly spread throughout the world and had a major influence on architecture, interior design, fashion, and visual arts during the first half of the 20th century.
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, into the detailed and colorful rose windows of the Gothic basilicas. In all its configurations, the oculus (meaning "eye" in Latin) holds symbolism that goes beyond that of a traditional window: its luminous projection gracefully marks the passage of time, solemnly highlighting an architectural space.
The demolition of the Pruitt-Igoe housing project will be 50 years old in 2022. Many ideas of how to live collectively have changed since then. Check out some housing projects in which the placement values encounters and community living.
The Pruitt-Igoe Housing Project, designed by Minoru Yamasaki, is considered a landmark of modernist architecture. Its high towers, inspired by Le Corbusier's Unité d'Habitation, which totaled almost 3000 units, set out to fill about half of the government-indicated housing deficit in the 1950s in St. Louis, USA. Besides the innovative architectural project, the government also bet on an interracial coexistence that involved poor and vulnerable strata of society - in the middle of the segregationist period in the United States.
Islands have proved to be great favorites of contemporary kitchens, appearing in environments of different sizes, styles, and with different materials. Before installing a kitchen island, however, it is necessary to think about a few factors to make a better design decision.
As part of a new initiative led by Francesca Borgonovo and Luis Young in Mexico City, "Preludio"—the inaugural exhibition of BY Galería—was presented from August 25 to September 3 at Proyecto Público Prim. This space arises from the question: "Is it possible to materialize architectural thought?"
Molière Street Renovation / PPAA Pérez Palacios Arquitectos Asociados. Image
Over the years, interior design has evolved in response to changing needs, and above all, to the experiences it seeks to evoke for the user. Over the last two years, we have witnessed a radical shift and a heightened interest in this field, as the pandemic forced us to pay closer attention to how we configure the spaces we inhabit. This has brought about much more holistic designs aimed at user well-being, combining colors, sensory experiences, technology, and natural elements that promote health.
As part of an initiative by LIGA, an independent space founded in Mexico City in 2011 to promote contemporary Latin American architecture through exhibitions, publications, events, lectures, and workshops, the exhibition “Registro: Museo Tamayo” opened on April 21 as part of the LIGA-ARCHIVOS initiative. This iteration presents a reinterpretation of the building designed by architect Teodoro González de León and built in 1981 in the First Section of Chapultepec Forest.
