Courtesy of Foster + Partners | Bank of International Settlements (BIS) Headquarters Extension
Office spaces in design and architecture play a crucial role in shaping the way we work and interact in professional environments. They are thoughtfully designed to promote healthy output, encourage teamwork, and give workers a welcoming and motivating environment. After the Covid-10 pandemic, work lifestyles underwent a significant transformation. As a result, companies have been adapting and redesigning new ways of working, implementing flexible schedules and hybrid work policies.
This evolution in work lifestyles has father influenced office design, now more focused on prioritizing health, safety, personal space, and collaboration. Office spaces in design and architecture have been adapting to the changing work landscape for decades. As they evolve to meet the changing needs of the workforce, various design iterations are explored, promoting different values.
This week’s curated selection of Best Unbuilt Architecture showcases projects submitted by the ArchDaily community highlighting different office spaces. Ranging from a more formal bank headquarters in Switzerland to a mixed-use business center in Ukraine, these designs heavily influence the way in which people work in the spaces.
The Second Studio (formerly The Midnight Charette) is an explicit podcast about design, architecture, and the everyday. Hosted by Architects David Lee and Marina Bourderonnet, it features different creative professionals in unscripted conversations that allow for thoughtful takes and personal discussions.
A variety of subjects are covered with honesty and humor: some episodes are interviews, while others are tips for fellow designers, reviews of buildings and other projects, or casual explorations of everyday life and design. The Second Studio is also available on iTunes, Spotify, and YouTube.
This week David and Marina of FAME Architecture & Design are joined by Denise Scott Brown, architect, planner and urban designer, and a theorist, writer and educator to discuss her background and upbringing in South Africa; her beginnings in architecture; traveling the world; how teaching impacted her life and career; the National Gallery and other of her projects being remodeled; and much more!
What does the future of cities and transportation look like? It looks like the future will run on two wheels and a handle bar. Many explain the rise of cyclists as a shift towards a healthier and more economical lifestyle. But while that may be true, why would individuals feel inclined to ride bicycles if the roads don't support it, or if there weren't adequate spaces to park?
Architecture plays an important role in promoting the use of bicycles. Cities equipped with safe bicycle lanes, parking lots, and public bike facilities encourage citizens to refrain from using their cars, and opt for a much more sustainable means of transportation. Many have already began reshaping their urban infrastructure in a way that caters to bicycles, whether it is through bicycle bridges, widened cycling lanes, or permanent parking lots.
Saint Laurent Men’s Summer 24 at Mies van der Rohe’s Neue Nationalgalerie. Image Courtesy of Saint Laurent
Architecture and fashion share an interesting interplay in the formation of cultural expressions and identities. Both disciplines can become vehicles for creativity at different levels. Architecture is often described as the “third skin” of humans, while clothes represent the second skin, highlighting somewhat similar functionality of protecting the body while also allowing for self-expression and individuality.
The relationship between architecture and fashion can also be seen in the shared design principles, such as form, proportion, human scale, and materiality. More than a simple background for runway shows, architecture can contribute to setting the atmosphere, becoming a source of inspiration, and orienting the movement through space. Collaborations between architects and fashion houses, such as the renowned partnership between OMA/AMO and Prada, further blur the boundaries between the two disciplines, demonstrating the myriad of interconnections between the two creative fields.
There are three primary settings in which lower-density urbanism can be useful, and where conditions favored by YIMBYs are weak or nonexistent: as a replacement for what is currently slated to be built out as sprawl, as a recovery process for existing sprawl, and in small towns that are growing. Giving up on these settings forces all development intended to combat the housing crisis into urban settings, ideally near transit, where land is much more expensive to acquire and to develop. It also allows the sprawl machine to roll on unimpeded.The best vehicle for implementing principles illustrated here at the scale of a neighborhood, hamlet, or village is not a major production builder, as these principles violate almost all of their conventional industrial practices. Instead, look to the record of stronger New Urbanist developers who are no strangers to doing things considered unconventional by the Industrial Development Complex in the interest of better places with stronger lifetime returns.
Heating and cooling buildings have always been two of the most important challenges in ensuring indoor user comfort. At a biological level, our bodies generate heat through metabolism, a physicochemical process. And although the human body has temperature regulation mechanisms, such as sweating and vasodilation, sometimes we need additional help to achieve thermal comfort. Therefore, since ancient times, traditional strategies have been sought to help achieve this, and many have been adapted to their historical and material contexts.
https://www.archdaily.com/1001837/empowering-thermal-comfort-through-smartphone-technology-in-hvac-systemsEnrique Tovar
Jingru (Cyan) Cheng . Image Courtesy of Wheelwright Prize
Harvard University Graduate School of Design (GSD) has announced Jingru (Cyan) Cheng as the recipient of the 2023 Wheelwright Prize, a study grant created to support globally-minded research and investigative approaches to contemporary architecture. The winning research project, titled “Tracing Sand: Phantom Territories, Bodies Adrift,” delves into the multifaceted impacts of sand mining and reclamation, understood from cultural, economic, and ecological perspectives. The unassuming material has become an indispensable element for our built environment and human communities, serving as a vital component in the production of glass, concrete, asphalt roads, and artificial land. Yet the process of dredging underwater systems and sand mining leads to the disruption of habitats in a process that simultaneously shapes one habitat while devastating another.
Polish History Museum . Image Courtesy of WXCA Architects
In the capital city of Poland, WXCA won a competition to design one of the largest museums completed in Europe today. The museum is now under construction at the Warsaw Citadel. The development is a combination of the Polish History Museum and the Polish Army Museum. Located on the site of a former fortification, the complex will become a culture hub rooted in remembrance.
There are many ways to define architecture, from the most technical to the most poetic. It uses many aspects within its context: space, program, tectonics, and gesture, which refers to the stroke, the drawing, and the design. Perhaps the quick sketch that comes to mind when talking about gesture is that of shelter: a cut or elevation, with human scale, of vertical enclosures and coverings.
Although the use of arches in architecture dates back to the 2nd millennium B.C., it was the Romans who solidified them as both an engineering element and a symbol of military victories, which we now see excessively as memorial arches. Shortly after, different civilizations and cultures adopted the arch for their own purposes, bridging together structural necessity and aesthetics. In this article, we look at how arches evolved from significant structural elements to captivating decorative details.
Mario Cucinella Architects has unveiled the design for the new Piazza dei Navigatori in Rome, Italy. Planned as a mixed-use development, the design is predominantly for residential spaces, with a retail and office component, parking, and "plant rooms". The development is located in an area rich in natural elements, which heavily inspires this urban agglomeration.
The city of Mérida, the capital of the state of Yucatán in Mexico, has experienced a significant architectural boom in recent years due to emerging talent that has gained recognition through awards and biennials across the country. With its tropical climate, the architecture in this region responds to specific geographical conditions, making it one of the most visited destinations. Mérida is a city that was built upon the remnants of the Mayan city called T'Ho and is composed of a rich culture that combines different moments in history. As a result, the contemporary architecture of this region incorporates traditional elements such as vaults, lattices, and sustainable traditional finishes that are reinterpreted to create a new language that reflects the present moment in which they were constructed.
Foodscapes: Spain's Pavilion for the Venice Architecture Biennale 2023, curated by Manuel Ocaña and Eduardo Castillo-Vinuesa, explores the Spanish agro-architectural context to address global issues. It analyzes the past and present of food systems and the architectures that construct them, in order to look towards the future and question other possible models that are capable of feeding the world without devouring the planet.
https://www.archdaily.com/1003304/foodscapes-a-journey-into-the-architectures-that-feed-the-worldArchDaily Team
Advancements in technology have paved the way for a revolutionary approach to architecture, one that involves responsiveness and movement. This concept called "kinetic architecture" allows buildings to dynamically adapt to their ever-changing surroundings. As of today, kinetic principles are commonly applied to enhance the environmental sustainability of buildings, especially through facades. However, kinetic architecture has the potential to impact the built environment in other facets as well. In public spaces, kinetic architecture holds immense promise, presenting opportunities to make them more accessible, inclusive, and user-friendly. Introducing kinetic elements into public spaces challenge long-held assumptions about architecture as a passive arrangement, ushering in a new era of interactive and engaging urban environments.
Standard, project sketches. Francesco Binfaré, 2012. Image Courtesy of Edra
The earliest vestiges of furniture in society can be traced back to the Fourth Dynasty of Egypt when the armchair of Queen Hetepheres I (ca. 2600 BC) was discovered. This armchair marked a significant milestone in the history of furniture. It is not surprising, therefore, that the chronology of furniture is intertwined with architectural, pictorial, and sculptural expressions of the time, where these elements often act as witnesses and, in exceptional cases, as central objects in the history of art and design.
Furniture consists of everyday objects designed to meet specific needs in our daily lives. However, sometimes they transcend their practical function and take on an autonomous presence. A piece of furniture has no nobler purpose than its interaction with human beings, therefore, separating these objects from their utilitarian dimension becomes an act of disruption. As a result, designers such as Francesco Binfaré have described sofas as “The most mysterious object amongst the furniture populating the interior design universe”. In this context, Edra creates unique objects that blend art and industrial production, reflecting contemporary domestic landscapes and experimenting with new shapes and materials.
https://www.archdaily.com/1002698/the-renaissance-of-the-sofa-innovations-atypical-shapes-and-anthropometryEnrique Tovar
Irish architect Shane de Blacam has been awarded the 2023 Royal Academy Architecture Award in recognition of his commitment to creating communal spaces and the craftsmanship and detail of his projects. In 1976, De Blacam co-founded the architectural firm de Blacam and Meagher alongside John Meagher, establishing a collective practice focused on the careful integration of local materials and the creation of comfortable spaces for people. Each year, London’s Royal Academy awards individuals or collective practices whose body of work has made a meaningful and positive impact on society.
Five finalists have been shortlisted in the competition to design the new Griegkvartalet Theater in Bergen, Norway. The project is set to be a cultural powerhouse in Western Norway, hosting multidisciplinary forms of art, including opera, musical theater, ballet, dance, concerts, and conferences. The competition emphasizes integration with the surroundings, urban space, energy efficiency, and feasibility.
The shortlisted teams include Henning Larsen Architects, Snøhetta, Zaha Hadid Architects, MAD arkitekter and Kengo Kuma, and the Nordic Office of Architecture includes Arkkitehtitoimisto ALA in the architecture subjects. Each studio was selected from 32 participants worldwide and will be filtered into three winners in the coming stages in the fall of 2023. Ultimately, by March 2024, one winner will be selected and receive the official service contract to begin construction.
Cairo,Egypt's vibrant capital, is a unique synthesis of both historical and contemporary architecture. One of the most populated cities in Africa, this busy urban agglomeration has a long, rich history and is home to nearly 20 million people. Apart from the infamous Great Pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx, which have attracted tourists for ages, the city has been a melting pot of cultures, histories, and built environments alike.
The city of Cairo has witnessed many different eras, each characterized by unique architectural styles. After the Ancient Egyptians, the Islamic Period saw the birth of iconic buildings like the Mosque of Ibn Tulun and the Mosque of Sultan Hassan. These were followed by the Mamluk Period, during which structures such as the Al Rifai Mosque and the Mosque Madrassa of Sultan Barquq were constructed, boasting exquisite stone carvings, towering minarets, and intricate decorative motifs. The Ottoman era brought its own landmarks, including the Mosque of Muhammad Ali and the Citadel of AlQalaa. In the late 19th and 20th centuries, Cairo experienced an influx of European architectural styles due to colonial influences. This resulted in the construction of notable structures such as the Cairo Opera House and the Cairo Tower.
