Humane cities center around the relationships between people and places. Communities thrive on shared resources, public spaces, and a collective vision for their locality. To nurture happy and healthy cities, designers and the public apply methods of placemaking to the urban setting. Placemaking—the creation of meaningful places—strongly relies on community-based participation to effectively produce magnetic public spaces.
As one of the first steps in the elaboration of an architectural project, the study of the current legislation on the ground is of paramount importance for the success of the proposal. Through calculations and restrictions, zoning laws present limits to be considered in projects that, consequently, instigate architects to think of intelligent solutions, dealing with such limitations in a practical and creative way.
These parameters are dictated by the government and aim to stop, maintain or accelerate urban growth in certain portions of cities. These are norms that establish guidelines for land occupation, delimiting the percentage of built-up area, setbacks, distances, permeability, among others.
Nature has continually played muse to architects. Colors and forms from the natural world find themselves embedded in artificial edifices. Buildings are also shaped by patterns of the wind and sun, topography, and vegetation. While architecture is informed by the effects of nature, buildings have been proposed as inert objects that remain static in a biologically evolving world. Anthropocentric concrete “jungles” are devoid of life, separating humans from natural environments and causing imbalances that have manifested as pandemics. What would cities look like if there were no boundaries between humans and ecosystems?
In theory, urban planning is a process of elaborating solutions that aim both to improve or requalify an existing urban area, as well as to create a new urbanization in a given region. As a discipline and as a method of action, urban planning deals with the processes of production, structuring and appropriation of urban space. In this sense, its main objective is to point out what measures should be taken to improve the quality of life of the inhabitants, including matters such as transport, security, access opportunities and even interaction with the natural environment.
If you’re reading this right now, or have read an article on ArchDaily, it’s because you were in a place that enabled you to connect to the internet. Think about a time when you found yourself in a dead zone, where the internet was lagging and you were unable to connect your computer to WiFi to finish an assignment or even without the ability to connect your phone to quickly Google something. You likely dashed to the nearest coffee shop, or place where WiFi was more reliable, just to have the feeling of being online again. The internet, in an ideal world, is equally open to all providing access to knowledge and the ability to easily connect with others. But what happens when you don’t have internet? How is your life impacted if you’re on the wrong side of the digital divide and live in an area without broadband access?
Vienna in Austria has topped the rankings of The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) 2022 Global Liveability Index, gaining back its previous position from 2019 and 2018, mostly for its stability and good infrastructure, supported by good healthcare and plenty of opportunities for culture and entertainment. Western European and Canadian cities dominated the top positions with Copenhagen, Denmark in second place and Zurich, Switzerland, and Calgary, Canada in third place. Adding 33 new cities to the survey, one-third of which are in China, bringing the total up to 172 cities, the classification excluded this year the city of Kyiv, due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Classified across 5 categories, stability, healthcare, education, culture and the environment, and infrastructure, the index was largely driven by the covid-19 pandemic. While covid-19 restrictions have eased in big parts of the world, liveability rankings started resembling “those seen before the pandemic”, however, the global average score remained below the pre-pandemic time. Although covid-19 has receded, a new threat to liveability emerged when Russia invaded Ukraine this year.
Manga is an umbrella term for a wide variety of comic books and graphic novels originally produced and published in Japan, and unlike western comic books that we may be more familiar with seeing printed in full color, are primarily published in black and white. Manga is the Japanese word for comics published in Japan, with the word itself comprising of two kanji characters: man (漫) meaning 'whimsical' and ga (画) meaning 'pictures'.
Not to be confused with the popular Japanese medium of anime, manga is print media whilst anime stands as visual media that is either hand-drawn or computer-produced, combining graphic art, characterization, cinematography, and other forms of creative and individualistic techniques. It is most notable that a lot of anime is developed as a result of a successful franchise that began as mere manga novels, but what continually unites the medium of manga and anime is the use of diverse art styles throughout various narratives that have been constructed for us consumers to follow.
Architecture, as a profession, is highly cyclical in nature. It ebbs and flows with the tides of economic conditions, and is especially hard hit during times of downturn. We’ve all heard stories or experienced it ourselves, or layoffs during the Great Financial Crisis in 2008, or even more recently the significant cutbacks architecture firms went through during the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic. Projects went on hold and new business opportunities declined almost overnight. Now, two years later, firms are keeping a close watch on global supply chain issues and rising inflation rates, especially with increased pressure to meet the needs of a growing urban population. Will architecture be recession-proof as we enter a bear market?
The first edition of the UIA 2030 Award celebrated projects that contribute to the delivery of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Located in Germany, Hong Kong, Argentina, Bangladesh, and China, the winning interventions were announced during the eleventh session of the World Urban Forum in Katowice, Poland. Organized by the International Union of Architects (UIA), together with the UN-HABITAT, the award program gathered 125 submissions in 40 countries.
ArchDaily had the chance to talk to the winners behind the acclaimed architecture, to discuss furthermore the interventions and certain specificities of each and every project. In addition, the winning teams shared their upcoming and ongoing architectural endeavors as well as their point of view on the importance of architects engaging with the Sustainable Development Goals.
Today, at the eleventh session of the World Urban Forum in Katowice, Poland, the International Union of Architects (UIA), together with the UN-HABITAT, have announced the laureates of the UIA 2030 Award. Seeking to acknowledge the contributions of architects to the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and New Urban Agenda through built interventions that demonstrate design quality and alignment with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), this first edition of a biennial awards program, selected winning projects from Germany, Hong Kong, Argentina, Bangladesh, and China, from 125 submitted projects in 40 countries.
Organized under six categories: Open Category, Improving Energy Efficiency, Adequate, Safe & Affordable Housing, Participatory, Land-Use Efficient & Inclusive Planning, Access to Green & Public Space, and Utilizing Local Materials, the jurors picked a winner per section, yet were unable to identify an overall winner in the open category and chose instead to recognize six projects as Highly Commended, honoring in total 5 laureates and 15 commendations.
“Creating an equitable city implies that every citizen has their needs met”, states architect Wanda Dalla Costa at a time when metropolises were noticing change. Architects and the public have started to acknowledge the gender-driven design of public spaces. Across the world, urban areas have been a site of discrimination and danger to the LGBTQ+ community. Gender is demonstrated in public zones that promote visibility and interaction between people. An arduous challenge lays upon architects and planners to design fair environments and equitable spaces.
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Many of us agree that design is still not considered for everyone. That is why we must ask ourselves what is truly democratic in the matters of design - in order to define our vision toward a more just society. From the perspective of architecture and urbanism, we can look at this democratization from different angles, including citizens in participatory processes, in order to find answers to our constant search to improve habitability and accessibility.
The design and functionality of public spaces in cities are always under scrutiny. Whether its accessibility to public parks and green spaces, the distance people live from public transportation, or the ways that spaces can be designed to make city life more safe and equitable. But now a new issue and one that lives at a smaller scale is starting to arise- where did all of the public seats go?
According to the Spanish Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda, the draft Law on the Quality of Architecture was finally approved on the 8th of June, after achieving the backing of a large majority, without any votes against, of the Senate Plenary, thus ending its parliamentary processing with a large consensus.
In 2013, Medellín (Colombia) was declared the most innovative city in the world as part of the City of the Year Competition, organized by the Wall Street Journal. It competed alongside metropolises like New York and Tel Aviv.
The Antioquian capital has become one of the most advanced technological and intellectual epicenters in Colombia, not to mention the important urban development that has occurred in the city since the beginning of 2010. The city’s mobility-orientated integrated infrastructure together with interventions of high social impact have turned Medellín into the center of the debate on the growth and development of Latin American cities.
The following projects tell you the story of a city that bet on urban consolidation through quality public spaces and projects that encouraged citizen management by supporting the development of marginalized areas in a process of social reconstruction, where architecture has played an important role as a spatial formulation tool.
Whether it is a small balcony, access to green space or a private garden, the outdoor space has become a privilege for many, especially upon the dawn of the Covid-19 pandemic and the multiple lock down periods that followed. Green space in the city is constantly under threat, particularly since governments seek to increase housing densities in order to feed a growing demand for suburban development. As a result, the garden and access to green/outdoor spaces has decreased in recent times, as priorities lie in housing as many as possible, often with disregard to beneficial features such as access to outdoor areas in residential developments.
In terms of living conditions the lack of access to these spaces presents evident inequalities, uncovered during periods of lock down and restrictions during the pandemic. People were confined to their homes and local outdoor spaces, where they could exercise. Those who had access to these public spaces and had their own gardens/external space were very lucky in the sense that they were able to enjoy an element of the outside. While those less fortunate in flats and areas of depravity faced claustrophobic and demoralizing conditions, contained within the shell of their homes.
In 1782, Bangkok became the capital of Siam – as Thailand was previously known. Its strategic position within the protective curve of Chao Phraya River to the West and the vast, swampy delta of the Sea of Mud that secured the city to the East was key. King Rama I modeled the new city on what had been the urban reference of Thailand since the 14th century: Ayutthaya, which by 1700 had become the largest city in the world with a total of 1 million inhabitants.
Bangkok progressively saw the construction of temples (wats), schools, libraries and hospitals. However, few other typologies were erected and the city lacked significant paved streets. Instead, the river and a network of interconnected canals served as the transport infrastructure of the city. With time, the floating houses anchored along the riverfront decreased and the pavements spread.
A lot of people around the world would agree that we are currently in a climate emergency. The IPCC report, released last year, makes for difficult reading. Practitioners in the built environment have taken to direct climate action, with organizations such as ACAN and Architects Declare fostering carbon literacy and calling for designers to re-evaluate how they practice.
_Domat.jpg?1656485110 "Home modification for low-income Families. Image Courtesy of Domat Architects")
.jpg?1656485127 "Co-creation of Urban Spaces by the Nobogonga River. Image Courtesy of Co.Creation.Architects, Jhenaidah Citywide People's Network, Platform of Community Action and Architecture (POCAA), Community Architects Network (CAN)")
.jpg?1656364895 "Co-creation of Urban Spaces by the Nobogonga River. Image Courtesy of Co.Creation.Architects, Jhenaidah Citywide People's Network, Platform of Community Action and Architecture (POCAA), Community Architects Network (CAN)")
_Evgeny_Evgrafov_02.jpg?1655225292 "© Evgeny Evgrafov")
