Architecture reconciles the sense of belonging and dignity of space. In addition to designing residential or cultural facilities, addressing public space in communities that inhabit vulnerable areas is also urgent and necessary to provide a dignified infrastructure that provides quality of life for the population. Therefore, we have gathered seven interventions in marginalized territories that show the potential for transformation from the space itself.
There’s a lot of undeserved stigma surrounding social housing. Although many projects start off well enough with shiny ribbon-cutting photoshoots, the cameras move on and investment tends to dry up, and maintenance cut. A lack of suitable green spaces follows – due to low-maintenance, and eventually results in forgotten, isolated communities, eventually spiraling down the plughole of ghettoisation.
Although easily blamed, the architecture of high-rise social housing blocks is not the cause of the problem, but can instead be part of the solution. Building up instead of out still offers a sensible route through both the current housing and social crises – sharing space and resources.
Moreover, these four projects from across Europe show, integrating social housing developments around accessible courtyards of sustainable green space helps bring and keep communities together.
In January 2023, Copenhagen Architecture Festival carried out a film and architecture workshop in collaboration with Barleti University and Tirana Architecture Triennale, exploring inclusivity in Albania’s capital city. In this interview, professor Saimir Kristo shares his thoughts about his booming city and the potential of film to narrate its true character.
The consortium formed of international studio Henning Larsen, Australian office Architectus, and global consultants Arup has been selected to transform the Canberra Theater Center into a vibrant and inclusive space. The project is developed in consultation with First Nations peoples to ensure that Canberra’s Civic and Cultural District will become a welcoming space for both artists and audiences. The winning tender includes preliminary designs that depict a new theater building to be added to the district, in addition to the renovation of the Courtyard Studio, Canberra Theater, and The Playhouse.
Whether it is the landscape and nature surrounding a plot of land or the desires and needs of his clients, for São Paulo architect Gui Mattos, the development of an architectural project is always a process of dialogue and exchange, built together with a series of other elements. After graduating in 1986 from the Faculty of Architecture and Urbanism of Santos (FAU Santos), he has led his architecture firm since 1987, which today has more than 40 employees.
The origin of interior courtyards dates back several years, serving as a means of shelter, security, and protection, while also aiming to achieve comfort and well-being through exterior elements. In contemporary housing, a wide range of possibilities is deployed, capable of accommodating various uses and activities that foster the relationship between the interior and exterior environment. Furthermore, notions of energy efficiency, thermal regulation, ventilation, and natural lighting are incorporated, among others.
Cities are a canvas for architectural creativity and the dynamism of urban life. In recent years, they have taken on an additional role: that of living laboratories for innovative architecture and urban design. International cities have become experimental grounds for architectural technology, sustainable practices, and human-centered design principles to be tested and refined. This paradigm shift has not only transformed the physical aspects of urban environments but has also redefined the relationship between architecture, community, and the built environment.
Since the earliest civilizations, nature has been a mainstay in serving as a natural habitat for humankind, providing shelter, food, and medicine. In modern times, industrial and technological revolutions took over the landscape, restructuring the way humans interact with nature. However, today, due to the events we have experienced as a society, it is necessary to focus on creating cities and spaces that integrate nature into our daily lives.
Almost two decades ago, in the downtown corridor of Columbus, Ohio, the century-old landmarked Lazarus Building underwent an extensive renovation to save the department store and restore it to its former glory. Sixty million dollars went into its restoration and transformation into a retail and office complex. During the construction, workers recycled nearly 5,000 pounds of steel, 2,000 pounds of concrete, and significant amounts of carpeting, ceiling tiles, and various wood- keeping 22,000 pounds of debris out of Ohio’s landfills. They also saved more than $25 million dollars by implementing this rigorous recycling process.
Timber is a natural, renewable material, easy to fabricate, and with low-carbon emissions. As a construction material, however, when put under enough directional force along its grain, sawn timber is structurally unstable, so deemed unsuitable under higher loads. In comparison, the manufacture of cross-laminated timber (CLT) involves simply gluing multiple layers of timber together at right angles. By crossing the direction of the grains, CLT achieves a far higher level of structural rigidity along both axes. CLT boards start with a minimum of three layers but can be strengthened further with the addition of more. Simply put, due to the complex physics involved in the perpendicular lamination, the strength of CLT board is similar to that of reinforced concrete, and has proven performance under seismic forces.
So what’s new? Wood’s been around for long enough now, and we’ve been using it as a building material for centuries. Surely this isn’t the first time someone’s realized it gets stronger the more you use it? Well… as you’d expect, the changing popularity of cross-laminated timber in construction does coincide with a greater understanding and focus on environmental causes, but the relationship hasn’t always been positive.
Architectural competitions play a crucial role in developing the architectural profession and in advancing the quality of the built environment. They are also an opportunity for architects to showcase their creativity and experiment with innovative or unexpected architectural solutions, be it for real or imagines contexts. This week's curated selection of Best Unbuilt Architecture highlights different competition-winning designs submitted by the ArchDaily Community.
From a spa and wellness center seamlessly integrated into the mountainous landscape of Austria to a refurbished city center that creates opportunities for social interaction in one of Bulgaria’s largest pedestrian city centers, the round-up spans various programs, scales, and attitudes toward the built or natural environment. The selected projects represent explorations in various design solutions, materials, and construction methods. They also showcase the broadness of possible responses ignited by site-specific conditions, from the volcanic landscape of Iceland, to the picturesque hills of the Kerala region in India or the lively central plaza in one of Israel’s largest cities.
As Venice Architecture Biennale presents its 18th edition titled "The Laboratory of the Future", it centers on Africa as a place of exploration that will offer a template for solutions to the world. According to its curator Lesley Lokko, the Biennale explores entrenched concepts such as climate, land rights, decolonization, and cultures. It challenges us to question how Africa's history can be a radical tool for imagination and reminds us of Stephen Covey's statement: “Live out of your imagination, not just your history.” The biennale's title is probably the most ambitious question in years. It forces us to revisit all boundaries of the continent's historical societies, explore the influence of imposed colonial borders on them, and examine the dual identities they gave birth to. We must consider how these identities can be instruments of creativity, and, more importantly, recognize that every African society has a unique point of view. This viewpoint yearns for cross-cultural collaboration as a powerful tool for imagination.
BIG has partnered with experimental clothing brand Vollebak to create the vision for a self-sufficient off-grid island in Nova Scotia, Canada. The 11-acre Vollebak Island will receive several pavilions built of natural and innovative materials such as seaweed, hempcrete, and 3D-printed concrete, all powered by carbon-neutral energy. The island, located in Jeddore Harbor, one quarter off the Nova Scotia mainland, will be auctioned via Sotheby’s Concierge Auctions beginning June 8. Bidders will vie for the chance to own the island and to be granted exclusive rights to the design vision, including the planning permission for those designs.
The China Pavilion's plan for Expo Osaka 2025 was revealed at a press conference held on April 26th, 2023, by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT). Created by the China Architecture Design Group (CADG), the design revolves around "Inscribed Slips of China," resembling traditional Chinese inscribed slips and incorporating elements of bamboo, Chinese characters, and ancient books. This design showcases China's spirit and cultural essence, emphasizing the harmony between humanity and nature and China's commitment to sustainable development in the modern era.
Climate issues have been the main topic of discussions about the future of cities, but they are certainly not new. The warning about human irreversibility on the planet has been part of scientific discourse since the 1980s. Faced with increasingly frequent environmental urgencies, Donna Haraway, in her book Staying with the Trouble: Making Kin in the Chthulucene, suggests a change in attitude on the part of humans to ensure not only partial environmental recovery but the species' survival.
In increasingly denser urban environments, there is a new-found interest in underused spaces as opportunities for further development. Representing up to 25% of cities' land area, rooftops are among the most exciting spatial resources. From sustainable infrastructure and urban farming to social spaces and cultural venues, the article looks into the potential of creating a multi-layered city through the activation of urban rooftops.
This article was originally published on Common Edge.
As its full title somewhat implies, Nicholas Dagen Bloom’s new book, The Great American Transit Disaster: A Century of Austerity, Auto-Centric Planning, and White Flight (University of Chicago Press), tells the whole grisly story of how, in less than a century, the U.S. changed from a rail-connected nation of cities and towns to a sprawling network of increasingly congested roads. A historian and a professor of urban policy and planning at Hunter College, Bloom rejects the sort of conspiracy-driven narratives around transit’s demise and comes to an uneasy conclusion: America essentially chose the car for a variety of reasons, only one of which was automobile company collusion. I talked with Bloom about why transit in the U.S. collapsed, why it turned out differently in European cities, and the hopes for a transit renaissance.
Change is hard, especially when it’s being forced upon you. But change can often be a good thing, too. Forcing growth and refreshing vitality. Those first few months after a child flies the nest are the hardest to bear when having to get to grips with the new normal of a quiet, lonely household.
Just as many soon-to-be-parents hit a sudden period of ‘nesting’ before the stork’s arrival, those on the other end of the child-rearing timeline experience an opposing feeling of grief when their home with a child reverts back to one without. Feelings of emptiness, loneliness, and a lack of purpose are joined by anxiety for them and their new life, and the loss of parental identity.
