Architecture: The Latest Architecture and News

The city of Panama has been experiencing an architectural rebirth. Buildings that have become outdated and deteriorated over time are now being renovated, restored, and modernized - and one of the main offices carrying out this task is Sketch, an architecture studio that defines itself as "energetic, multidisciplinary, and a firm believer that design should be both smart and fun."

Their renovation and remodeling projects, such as the STEPS Dance Academy, the DiabloRosso Gallery, and the mixed-use building La Moderna, are clear indications of this transformative spirit that revolves around efficiency and relevance. Learn about these projects in detail below.

The UIA World Congress of Architects 2023 is an invitation for architects from around the world to meet in Copenhagen July 2 – 6 to explore and communicate how architecture influences all 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). For more than two years, the Science Track and its international Scientific Committee have been analyzing the various ways in which architecture responds to the SDGs. The work has resulted in the formulation of six science panels: design for Climate Adaptation, design for Rethinking Resources, design for Resilient Communities, design for Health, design for Inclusivity, and design for Partnerships for Change. An international call for papers was sent out in 2022 and 296 of more than 750 submissions have been invited to present at the UIA World Congress of Architects 2023 in Copenhagen. ArchDaily is collaborating with the UIA to share articles pertaining to the six themes to prepare for the opening of the Congress.

In this first feature, we met with the Head of the Scientific Committee Mette Ramsgaard Thomsen, Professor and Head of the CITA (Centre for IT and Architecture), Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, School of Architecture, Design and Conservation who is also co-chairing the panel design for Rethinking Resources with Carlo Ratti, Professor and Director of the Senseable Lab, MIT, Founding Partner of CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati.

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Contemporary Indian design culture can aptly be described with one word - fusion. A close look at the trends in fashion, cinema, music, and art soon reveals the country’s aspirations as a globalized nation. Reveling in a new era, India’s art and design appear as a combination of influences from traditional life and the Western world. A “neo-Indian” image informs multiple forms of cultural expression, including architecture and interior design. As Indians and Indian architecture carve the country's place in the world, a new design trend flourishes - one that is driven by modern lifestyles, international influences, a colonial past, and a desire to stay connected to its roots.

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Designed by Renzo Piano Building Workshop, a new building for Istanbul Modern, Türkiye’s first museum of modern and contemporary art, will open to the public on May 4th, 2023. The official opening ceremony of the museum is set to take place at a later date. The museum, measuring over 10,500 square meters, is located on the Karaköy waterfront, a historic district at the intersection of the Bosphorus and Golden Horn. The new building offers spaces for temporary exhibitions, interdisciplinary educational programs, film screenings, and an extensive art collection.

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At the 18th International Architecture Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia, Qatar Creates will present the documentary exhibition "Building a Creative Nation”, at the ACP - Palazzo Franchetti, from May 14 through November 26, 2023. This will be the first time that Qatar's newest cultural institutions are highlighted outside their home country.

ELEMENTAL, Herzog & de Meuron, Office for Metropolitan Architecture (OMA), Philippe Starck, and UNStudio are just a few of the internationally renowned architectural firms working with Qatar Museums to establish five new cultural facilities in Qatar. The new constructions will be overseen by Qatar Museums, tasked with maintaining and expanding Qatar's cultural assets through managing the nation's expanding network of museums, heritage sites, festivals, and public art installations.

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Dismantling the system of slave and child labor in the architecture and construction industry does not seem like a simple task, especially on a global scale. However, this is precisely the mission of the Design for Freedom (DFF) initiative, created by CEO and founder of the Grace Farms Foundation, Sharon Prince, along with Bill Menking, professor and editor-in-chief of The Architect's Newspaper.

Through events and freely available tools, Design for Freedom seeks to "raise awareness and inspire responses to halt forced labor in the construction materials supply chain," offering paths to ensure transparency and ethics in the architectural production process.

The architecture firm MAD Architects, based in Beijing, China, has presented the design of its first project in South America, the mixed-use "Qondesa" tower in Quito, Ecuador, which will soon become the tallest building in the city.

Following findings from a study published in the Nature Ecology & Evolution journal this April, it has become public knowledge that the phenomenon dubbed the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (an area of 620,000 square miles between California and Hawaii) is serving as host to an entire coastal ecosystem. Marine wildlife is using the massive area compiled of human plastic waste as a floating habitat, and scientists are shocked at the number of species that have managed to establish life in this otherwise hostile environment.

The news once again brings into sharp focus not only pressing issues of climate change and ocean pollution but also the question of environmentally-induced migration, even at a microbial level. Architecture is moving into more and more experimental realms when it comes to considering locations for the communities of our future – and rising sea levels have promoted water to the top of the list. But these deliberations are not as recent as one might think: floating cities have been around for centuries and individual homes on water are common in areas of Benin, Peru or Iraq, among others.

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The Federal Aviation Administration has chosen the New York-based Practice for Architecture and Urbanism (PAU) studio to design the country's newest air traffic control towers. I.M. Pei's iconic mid-century towers will be replaced by PAU's adaptable and highly sustainable prototype, which offers a unique architectural solution that combines form and function for the twenty-first century. The new towers are vital to U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg's goal to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions from the U.S. aviation sector by 2050. They have been updated to reflect aviation technology, safety development, and changing environmental and climatic conditions.

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The use of light in religious constructions as an element of association with the divine has been present throughout the history of humanity. Historically, a series of temples from various religions have used this technique as an attempt to visually and perceptibly approach humans to a sacred and intangible dimension. Light is often given a spiritual connotation and significant symbolic force, capable of modifying people's relationships, perceptions, and experiences with their surroundings. Thus, it is an element that has been, and still is, used by architecture to create scenarios and effects in many religious spaces, especially churches.

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“Can you help me design my residential tower? It's 30 stories and located in Brooklyn, New York.” ChatGPT’s response may be surprising. Given that the bot has no architectural experience, and is certainly not a licensed architect, it was quick to rattle off a list of considerations for my building. Zoning codes, floor plan functionality, building codes, materiality, structural design, amenity spaces, and sustainable measures were just a few of the topics ChatGPT shared information about.

Rising living costs are relevant hurdles to young people, seeking a place to live, while much older generations might find it more difficult to settle into comfortable post-retirement settings. These general issues have been pushing forth a recurring solution, namely a return to multigenerational family living. 

While communal living concepts and developments had been adopted in recent years, familial involvement is proving to be a financially, legally, and emotionally viable alternative. 

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National Museums Liverpool (NML) has revealed a revised version of the redevelopment of the city’s waterfront, led by architect Asif Khan and artist Theaster Gates. The plans include the redesign of the public spaces at Canning Dock, a historical area central to the Liverpool docks. As part of the Waterfront Transformation Project, the interventions aim to create accessible public spaces to better serve the community and to create a link between the surrounding museums. The preliminary proposal is now open for public consultation.

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Playful cities promote play, leisure, and creativity in their public spaces and architecture. It offers opportunities for gatherings that help develop communities socially and culturally, improving the quality of life and providing essential elements for healthier and more balanced habits. They directly influence citizens' cognitive and emotional development by stimulating creativity and imagination through spaces designed for fun.

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Milan Design Week is an annual festival that returned to Milan this April, with as a main event, The Salone del Mobile, which runs from April 18 to 23, 2023, at the Fiera Milano exhibition venue. Over 370,000 people attended the furniture fair this year, while thousands of design studios presented furniture, lighting, appliances, kitchen, bathroom, outdoor and workstation products. To highlight furniture and object design and the broader context of Milanese architecture and culture, many architectural offices collaborated with various businesses to make architect-designed items and construct architectural installations.

Reputable architects participated in the week-long event as they do every year, using products, furniture, and installations to share their expertise, address some of the most pressing issues facing the field, and demonstrate how their work can benefit the environment and society. Many firmly established architecture studios, from Foster + Partners, Mario Cucinella, and Hassell, designed various products. Furthermore, architects such as The New Raw, Snøhetta, and Studio Etienne Bastormagi have designed products focusing on efficient and sustainable systems that can inform future decision-making.

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Temporary pavilions and installations, such as those used in events, exhibitions, or festivals, present themselves as a great challenge when addressing the circular economy in architecture due to their ephemeral condition. It seems contradictory to address resource management and try to extract the maximum value from the materials and minimize waste and pollution while designing a structure that is meant to be used for a limited period of time. However, there are several strategies to rethink the way we are designing these structures in order to promote circularity.

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Commerce is a human activity practiced by societies since the beginning of evolution. Exchanges were made between products negotiated by entire communities at first. They began to be based on a common currency and practiced individually over time, from family to family. In one way or another, this activity is a characteristic of civilization and even influences our territorial organization. Historically practiced in outdoor spaces, commercial activity defined many spatial configurations.

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African cities are expected to experience a significant increase in population over the next 30 years. According to United Nations projections, these cities will welcome an additional 900 million inhabitants by 2050. This demographic shift will create both opportunities and challenges that will reshape the nature and structure of these cities. These challenges include the need for economic growth, increased demand for housing and infrastructure, and the development of supplementary transportation systems. So far, most African cities have responded to this rapid population growth with sprawling horizontal development patterns that expand the fringes of the city, increase social fragmentation, and ultimately lead to greater car dependency.

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