Beach: The Latest Architecture and News

In the heart of the Caribbean Sea, the island of Puerto Rico shines like a newly polished emerald—bound by history, nurtured by culture, full of life, incredible food, vivacious music, warm people, spectacular beaches and a promising design community. But its economic crisis has put the island on the global spotlight in the most unfortunate of ways, with the international media pessimistically dubbing it ‘the Greece of the Caribbean’. Like Greece, there's much more to la isla bonita (‘the pretty island’, as it was known around the world) than economic and political woes, and if we were to take a look inside the island, peeking through the leaves of its palm trees and luscious fauna, we'd find a people who are determined to succeed and survive; a people who are creative and bold. That's why this summer, we're lobbying for Puerto Rico.

The AA Visiting School Hawaii is an architectural workshop dedicated to the investigation of flying machines through fabrication and geometry as well as performance and choreography.

From their earliest use as measurement tools for the city, the 2000 year old history of flying machines is deeply rooted in architectural investigations.

Gliding between its leisure vocation and its scientific relevance, we will immerse into this legacy starting from the world’s oldest from of air-craft: the kite. 

Throughout history, the coast has spawned various architectural types of public infrastructure which enabled and enhanced the coastal experience. The British invention of the marine pier for instance was an architectural innovation that allowed the first coast tourists to walk on water, as it were, only without getting wet or seasick. The seafront promenade in turn was the public place to be for the well-to-do dawdler, but at the same time also an integral part of coastal defence as well as an efficient real-estate instrument along which the first prestigious ‘Grands Hotels’ could be erected. Lastly, the modern installations balnéaires in Ostend, Knokke, and Blankenberge integrated showers, changing rooms, luxury cabins, ticket sales, and steps leading to the beach.