1. ArchDaily
  2. City Planning

City Planning: The Latest Architecture and News

The Tourism Effect: Reshaping Cities, Landscapes, and Infrastructure

This summer, over one million visitors, spectators, and athletes are expected to gather in the streets of Paris for the 2024 Summer Olympic Games. The preparation for the event included massive investments into upgrading infrastructure, venues, and public spaces throughout the city and country. In addition to the restoration of Grande New de I'Île-des-Vannes venue, the Georges-Callerey Swimming Pool, and the Poissonniers Sports Center, the city has revealed new typologies of public services and a master plan for the Olympic Athletes Village by Dominique Perrault Architecture.

The Tourism Effect: Reshaping Cities, Landscapes, and Infrastructure - Imagem 1 de 4The Tourism Effect: Reshaping Cities, Landscapes, and Infrastructure - Imagem 2 de 4The Tourism Effect: Reshaping Cities, Landscapes, and Infrastructure - Imagem 3 de 4The Tourism Effect: Reshaping Cities, Landscapes, and Infrastructure - Imagem 4 de 4The Tourism Effect: Reshaping Cities, Landscapes, and Infrastructure - More Images+ 6

Contemporary Architecture and the Modern City

This article was originally published on Common Edge.

"O beautiful, for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain, has there ever been another place on earth where so many people of wealth and power have paid for and put up with so much architecture they detested as within thy blessed borders today?"

Tom Wolfe wrote this in his 1981 book From Bauhaus to Our House. The conflict between modern and traditional design has barely abated since, as is evident in this recent article. In the U.S., modern buildings are often met with community aversion, for familiar reasons: their perceived coldness and lack of contextual sensitivity, the impact on local character, and the loss of historical continuity. But on another level, the critique against modern design finds even more purchase on the larger scale: the city. Modern U.S. cities reek of traffic congestion and pollution, social inequality and gentrification, a loss of community and cultural spaces, and a lack of usable open space.

Contemporary Architecture and the Modern City - Image 1 of 4Contemporary Architecture and the Modern City - Image 2 of 4Contemporary Architecture and the Modern City - Image 3 of 4Contemporary Architecture and the Modern City - Image 4 of 4Contemporary Architecture and the Modern City - More Images

"Building the Line as a Three-Dimensional City:” In Conversation with Tarek Qaddumi, Executive Director of The Line Design of NEOM

In early 2021, Saudi Arabia unveiled the Line, a 170-kilometer-long linear city, part of the NEOM project. NEOM has since expanded with proposals for the region, including a ski destination set to host the 2029 Asian Winter Games, a floating port city at Oxagon, and cliffside hotels at Leyja. However, the Line continues to be one of the most debated of the proposals due to its scale and unprecedented design. According to the official releases, the city would measure 170 kilometers in length, 200 meters in width, and 500 meters in height, making it the 12th highest skyscraper in the world. In its final phase, it is expected to welcome 9 million residents, nearing the size of London or New York’s five boroughs.

On October 23, 2023, during the closing of the Line Exhibition in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, ArchDaily’s Editor in Chief, Christele Harrouk spoke to Tarek Qaddumi, Executive Director of The Line Design at NEOM, asking questions that probe into both the conceptual aspects and the technicalities of The Line project. In this video interview, the conversation addresses notions such as accessibility, transportation, and sustainability, while also exploring the concept of Cognitive Cities and the intended phasing of the project.

"Building the Line as a Three-Dimensional City:” In Conversation with Tarek Qaddumi, Executive Director of The Line Design of NEOM - Image 1 of 4"Building the Line as a Three-Dimensional City:” In Conversation with Tarek Qaddumi, Executive Director of The Line Design of NEOM - Image 2 of 4"Building the Line as a Three-Dimensional City:” In Conversation with Tarek Qaddumi, Executive Director of The Line Design of NEOM - Image 3 of 4"Building the Line as a Three-Dimensional City:” In Conversation with Tarek Qaddumi, Executive Director of The Line Design of NEOM - Image 4 of 4Building the Line as a Three-Dimensional City:” In Conversation with Tarek Qaddumi, Executive Director of The Line Design of NEOM - More Images+ 5

RIBA Announces the Shortlist for the 2024 Stirling Prize

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has revealed the six shortlisted projects for the 2024 RIBA Stirling Prize. Awarded annually since 1996, this represents one the most important architecture prizes in the United Kingdom, striving to reward and highlight projects that envision a more inclusive future and engage actively with current challenges of the built environment. The selected works range in scale and program, from a national art gallery to an inclusive rural retreat, major urban regeneration projects, and even a London underground line. While some of the selected architects have received previous awards, including Mikhail Riches for the Goldsmith Street in 2019 and Jamie Fobert for New Tate St Ives in 2018, other architects such as Clementine Blakemore Architects and Al-Jawad Pike are at their first nomination.

RIBA Announces the Shortlist for the 2024 Stirling Prize - Image 1 of 4RIBA Announces the Shortlist for the 2024 Stirling Prize - Image 2 of 4RIBA Announces the Shortlist for the 2024 Stirling Prize - Image 3 of 4RIBA Announces the Shortlist for the 2024 Stirling Prize - Image 4 of 4RIBA Announces the Shortlist for the 2024 Stirling Prize - More Images+ 25

Coping with Extreme Heat: How Cities are Confronting the Heatwave in Eastern and Southern Europe

Eastern and Southern Europe is enduring a severe heatwave, with temperatures reaching over 40 degrees Celsius in many countries including Greece, Croatia, Macedonia, and Romania. Driven by hot air from North Africa, this prolonged heatwave has raised significant threats for residents and has strained the cities’ mechanisms for protection and climate mitigation. As the heatwaves expose the vulnerabilities of urban infrastructures, cities across Europe are striving to implement measures to address these challenges.

Coping with Extreme Heat: How Cities are Confronting the Heatwave in Eastern and Southern Europe - Image 1 of 4Coping with Extreme Heat: How Cities are Confronting the Heatwave in Eastern and Southern Europe - Image 2 of 4Coping with Extreme Heat: How Cities are Confronting the Heatwave in Eastern and Southern Europe - Image 3 of 4Coping with Extreme Heat: How Cities are Confronting the Heatwave in Eastern and Southern Europe - Image 4 of 4Coping with Extreme Heat: How Cities are Confronting the Heatwave in Eastern and Southern Europe - More Images

Queer Urban Design: Planning for Inclusive Cities

Evolving theories in urban design seek to reframe how cities are built and experienced. As theory and practice grows more empathetic towards the needs of its diverse stakeholders, queer urban design brings a broad and holistic shift to understanding identity and community in publicly inhabited spaces. The approach challenges traditional - often rigid - methods of city planning by applying principles of queer theory to reflect fluidity and interconnectedness. On occasion of Pride Month 2024, ArchDaily investigates the building blocks of "queer urban design" to influence city planning practices to be more inclusive.

Queer Urban Design: Planning for Inclusive Cities - Image 1 of 4Queer Urban Design: Planning for Inclusive Cities - Image 2 of 4Queer Urban Design: Planning for Inclusive Cities - Image 3 of 4Queer Urban Design: Planning for Inclusive Cities - Image 4 of 4Queer Urban Design: Planning for Inclusive Cities - More Images+ 1

How are Cities Adapting to Heatwaves in the Face of Climate Change

The climate crisis has made heatwaves more likely and more intense around the world. Record-breaking high temperatures are being reported across the world. According to international data, the first week of July 2023 was the hottest week on record, putting millions of people in danger. All throughout this summer, recurring heatwaves have been affecting large portions of Asia, Europe, and the United States, priming the land for fires in places like Greece, Spain, and Canada, triggering unhealthy air warnings, evacuations, and heat-related deaths. The increasingly threatening effects of the climate crisis are also felt in cities worldwide, as extreme heat proves to be a rapidly growing health risk to millions of urban dwellers.

Cities are on the front lines of this public health emergency. People living in urban areas are among the hardest hit when heatwaves happen, partly because of urban heat islands. This is a phenomenon that occurs when cities replace the natural land cover with dense concentrations of surfaces that absorb and retain heat, like pavements and buildings. Heat risk levels also vary by neighborhood, with less affluent and historically marginalized sectors being the most affected due to the density of the population, limited access to cooling systems, and the limited availability of green urban spaces.

How are Cities Adapting to Heatwaves in the Face of Climate Change - Image 1 of 4How are Cities Adapting to Heatwaves in the Face of Climate Change - Featured ImageHow are Cities Adapting to Heatwaves in the Face of Climate Change - Image 2 of 4How are Cities Adapting to Heatwaves in the Face of Climate Change - Image 3 of 4How are Cities Adapting to Heatwaves in the Face of Climate Change - More Images+ 2

Open Call: Urban design Trnava - QUARTER

Trnava, the regional vision-having city of 62,000 inhabitants, launches an international two-stage urban design competition of an unprecedented scale across Slovakia. From the point of the history of the city ̓s development, this is a game-changer to be setting a new standard with respect to the preparation of The Land-use plan.

Santa Clara's Lack of Housing: A Missed Opportunity for Equity and Sustainability

This article was originally published on Common Edge.

One of the principles of comedy is that you “punch up.” If you have to make fun of someone or something, make sure it’s more prominent than you, and deserving. You can’t get much higher than Santa Clara, California, and you can’t get much more deserving. Santa Clara is, arguably, the city at the heart of Silicon Valley, a globally famous urban region that is so ill-defined as to deny its own existence. Those ranch houses and corporate headquarters represent a distinctly 21st-century brand of power. And a distinctly 20th-century brand of urbanism.

Paris Reimposes the Ban on Skyscrapers After Tour Triangle Controversy

The city of Paris has officially reinstated a rule that limits the height of new buildings in the French capital to 37 meters, or 12 storeys. Among the factors for the decision was the controversy surrounding the construction of the 180-meter-tall Tour Triangle, designed by Herzog & de Meuron, which began in 2021 after more than a decade of legal battles and backlash. The new urban planning regulation is introduced as part of Mayor Anne Hidalgo's Local Bioclimatic Urban Plan, which aims to reduce Paris' carbon emissions.

Paris Reimposes the Ban on Skyscrapers After Tour Triangle Controversy - Image 1 of 4Paris Reimposes the Ban on Skyscrapers After Tour Triangle Controversy - Image 2 of 4Paris Reimposes the Ban on Skyscrapers After Tour Triangle Controversy - Image 3 of 4Paris Reimposes the Ban on Skyscrapers After Tour Triangle Controversy - Image 4 of 4Paris Reimposes the Ban on Skyscrapers After Tour Triangle Controversy - More Images

Consider the 15 mph City

This article was originally published on Common Edge.

When San Francisco’s MUNI spent big money on a “central subway” to Chinatown, I was doubtful. One recent Saturday, though, I revived the gallery-hopping I did before the pandemic, taking the train from Berkeley into the city, walking to one gallery near Embarcadero Station, then taking a tram past the ballpark to the CalTrain Station, where I switched to another tram to head south to Minnesota Street’s Dogpatch cluster of galleries and artists’ studios.

Everything Is (Not) Architecture: Environmental Design and Architecture’s Slippery Slope

This article was originally published on Common Edge.

There’s no shortage of slippery slopes in the architectural lexicon: “architectural” and “architectonic” hover near the top of the list. Problems invariably arise when the modifier supplants the modified. This happens more than you’d think, especially of late. A wholly separate issue arises when owing partly to a linguistic slight of tongue, architecture is understood as something distinct from the building, eschewing physical inhabitation. 

The Expansion of Pedal Power: Bike Shares Are on the Rise

Over the last few years, bike share systems experienced a renaissance as the pandemic forced a hard decline in other forms of public transportation like trains and commercial flights where people wanted to avoid close contact with strangers. While ridership is now on a slow decline, since much of the “normal life” aspects have returned, many people continue to see bike shares as a viable means of transportation, lured by the ease and affordability of getting from place to place.

Zaha Hadid's Business Stadium Central in Vilnius, Lithuania Receives Planning Approval

The Zaha Hadid-designed Business Stadium Central has been granted approval by the City of Vilnius. In collaboration with Lithuanian developer Hanner, the project seeks to become a new gathering place for the city, creating a variety of new public spaces and amenities with flexible workplaces as well as health and wellness facilities for everyone in Vilnius. Construction is scheduled for the second quarter of this year.

Zaha Hadid's Business Stadium Central in Vilnius, Lithuania Receives Planning Approval  - Image 1 of 4Zaha Hadid's Business Stadium Central in Vilnius, Lithuania Receives Planning Approval  - Image 2 of 4Zaha Hadid's Business Stadium Central in Vilnius, Lithuania Receives Planning Approval  - Image 3 of 4Zaha Hadid's Business Stadium Central in Vilnius, Lithuania Receives Planning Approval  - Image 4 of 4Zaha Hadid's Business Stadium Central in Vilnius, Lithuania Receives Planning Approval  - More Images+ 2