Tag: home-improvement | ArchDaily

Nine Stunning Renovated Apartments in Oscar Niemeyer-Designed Buildings

Matheus Pereira — Fri, 26 Dec 2025 07:30:00 +0000

Living in residences designed by renowned modern architects is a dream sought after by many. Projects that have become iconic are major attractions for new residents who value both the authorial signature and history of the building, as well as the innovative architectural solutions that have contributed to the prominence of such projects.

Designing for Companionship: Reimagining Urban Life with Pets

Jonathan Yeung — Sun, 04 May 2025 07:30:00 +0000

Humans and pets have long shared a deep and inseparable bond—and today, how we live alongside them is becoming increasingly important. Beyond offering companionship, pets are now often regarded as life partners, providing powerful support for mental health and emotional well-being. Yet it is not only the emotional connection that matters: the way we design and curate spaces for cohabitation with them plays a critical role in shaping meaningful spatial relationships between humans and their animal companions.

Successes and Contradictions in Urban Center Retrofitting: The Case of São Paulo

Camilla Ghisleni — Fri, 08 Mar 2024 05:00:00 +0000

Considered the fifth most populous city in the world as of 2022, São Paulo is confronted with a multitude of challenges befitting its over 22 million inhabitants. Among the numerous urban issues faced, the depopulation of the city's historic center has been a recurring topic for at least four decades, with governments announcing measures that could potentially reverse the situation. In the meantime, the same center has witnessed a rise in housing occupations in abandoned buildings, highlighting the importance of its redefinition and residential potential.

7 Renovation Projects Featuring Structural Reinforcements for Expanding Spans

ArchDaily Team — Thu, 19 Oct 2023 05:00:00 +0000

In many cases, when working on a renovation project within an old building, architects often encounter segmented floor plans, spaces without natural light, and complex layouts that hinder the seamless flow required in modern living. Consequently, architects typically opt for targeted demolition, removing specific walls during renovations. This solution can address several of the problems encountered but demands meticulous planning to ensure the structural integrity of the building. When it comes to scenarios like these, structural reinforcement is one of the most commonly employed methods.

Architecture With History: 7 Brazilian Houses That Respect the Layers of Time

ArchDaily Team — Thu, 05 Oct 2023 05:00:00 +0000

More and more, the field of architecture is shifting its focus towards revitalizing existing spaces. This shift is motivated by various factors, including concerns about sustainability, cost constraints, and the scarcity of available land in rapidly expanding urban areas. It presents an opportunity not only to renovate buildings but also to engage with the layers of time. This intricate task involves fostering a dialogue between contemporary and historical materials, acknowledging traditional construction techniques, and even uncovering hidden aspects of history and geography within the built environment to create truly unique architectural experiences.

Evergreen Design Elements that Define Contemporary Interiors: 7 Features that Last the Test of Time

Claire Brodka — Wed, 19 Apr 2023 04:00:00 +0000

When it comes to forward-thinking interior design, adaptability, and timelessness are two key factors that can guarantee a home will look just as current years from now as it does today. One interior style that makes use of them more than any other is: contemporary. By borrowing elements from several prominent styles and combining them into a harmonic whole, contemporary interiors stay current even as trends move on. But what are the components that remain constant even with this ever-changing fashion? We explore seven evergreen design elements that define contemporary interiors.

Portuguese Office Masslab Wins Competition for Mixed-Use Building in Helsinki, Finland

ArchDaily — Mon, 13 Mar 2023 06:00:00 +0000

The Portuguese office MASSLAB, in collaboration with AFRY Ark Studio, won the Train Factory Mixed-Use Competition, an international competition in two stages whose main objective was to create a landmark for the city of Helsinki, Finland. The proposal was selected from five world-renowned architectural consortia.

Designing-Women’s Lives Tranforming Place and Self

Rene Submissions — Mon, 26 Dec 2022 13:19:00 +0000

Designing-Women’s Lives calls for a place-making revolution based on women’s culturally nurtured “feeling” sensibility. Women too often have had to repress that sensibility in order to become designers.
Now, rather than struggle to fit-in, women can break new ground by using Design Psychology as the foundation for creating emotionally satisfying place.
To encourage such a heart/mind shift, the author discusses how she took architecture Gold Medalist Denise Scott Brown and interior design legend Margo Grant Walsh through a series of Design Psychology exercises. The process revealed ways these renowned women unconsciously embedded their heroic struggles as minority females in their designs: Grant

Home-Renovation Reality Shows: Fact or Fiction?

Camilla Ghisleni — Thu, 24 Nov 2022 05:00:00 +0000

TV shows about renovations are seductive. We feel anxiety when seeing that home remodeled in an unimaginable way, providing a family reconnection with the new space. The tears at the end, the host-architect-contractor satisfied with the result, intact wooden floors, shiny appliances, and bathtubs ready to be used. It is no wonder that these programs are reaching an ever-increasing audience and, consequently, inspiring many transformations in other people's homes.

Before and After: 5 Refurbishments in Brazilian Houses

ArchDaily Team — Sun, 30 Oct 2022 05:30:00 +0000

If we previously brought in before and after plans of apartment refurbishments, we now focus on residential projects that have received needed improvements. In addition to the plans, the information contained in the memorial of each project helps to better understand the attitude taken in each architectural design. After all, each work brings with it different demands: deadlines, budgets, legislation and pre-existing conditions.

Before and After: 10 Refurbishments in Brazilian Apartments

ArchDaily Team — Mon, 29 Aug 2022 05:00:00 +0000

Usually, refurbishments are to completely change a space or, in a more surgical way, to bring about improvements in mobility and privacy issues. No matter the number of walls to be demolished, coatings to be replaced and joinery to be designed, the result is always looking for a more functional and beautiful space. In the case of apartments that usually have standard floor plans, intervening in them is also a way of bringing a unique and more personal character to each home.

Will Refurbishment be the Architectural Specialization of the Future?

Eduardo Souza — Tue, 07 Sep 2021 06:30:00 +0000

The choice of Lacaton & Vassal to receive the 2021 Pritzker Prize was, above all, emblematic. Under the mantra “never demolish, never remove or replace, always add, transform and reuse”, the French duo built a career focused on renovating buildings, providing them with spatial quality, efficiency and new programs. Their approach contrasts with most of the architecture we are used to honoring: iconic, imposing and grandiose works. It also contrasts with the notion of the tabula rasa, of building and rebuilding from scratch, so well represented in Le Corbusier's Ville Radieuse, and which has fascinated architects and urban planners ever since.

Ibis hotels - New concept / FGMF

Pilar Caballero — Wed, 27 Mar 2019 14:00:00 +0000

FGMF Arquitetos, led by the trio Fernando Forte, Lourenço Gimenes and Rodrigo Marcondes Ferraz, went to AccorHotels headquarters in Paris to present its new project, winner of the Americas stage of a global contest organized by AccorHotels’ Design area to renovate ibis hotels. In addition to the design created by FGMF, two other layouts, one by Innocad (Europe) and one by Soda (Asia) were also selected, as part of the brand’s new flexible, personalized approach to turn its hotels into vibrant spaces. The concepts presented by these firms may be used by ibis hotel worldwide, instead of following a single standard as they have done until now.

This Instagram Account Collects Hilarious Construction Fails and Home Improvement Disasters

Evan Pavka — Fri, 23 Mar 2018 08:00:00 +0000

We’ve all seen them: cringeworthy designs and abysmal construction fails. For architects and designers, it's difficult not to hone in on the details of every space we encounter. And, it’s even harder not to laugh at doors incapable of opening, plaster jobs that could have been completed by a 4-year old, and an overly liberal use of caulking to solve any construction mishap.