Exposed pipes highlighted in architecture are not a novelty. Classics like Centre Pompidou and Sesc Pompeia already adopted infrastructure elements as objects that helped compose the building's aesthetics. Solutions inspired by the industrial architecture of the 50s, urging to remodel industrial sheds for other uses, made their facilities apparent to make the work more cost-effective and less complex. After a few decades, we find this idea at different scales.
Artificial lighting offers a range of strategies for interior design. Widely used in commercial projects and restaurants as an aesthetic device to attract customers and to create environments that stimulate the senses, it can transform rooms and create cozy and well-lit places in residential projects.
After two weeks of voting in our 14th edition of the Building of the Year Awards, our readers have narrowed down over 4,500 projects to just 75 finalists across 15 categories, casting over 100,000 votes. This year's awards celebrate the very best in design, innovation, and sustainability from around the globe, with the shortlist featuring an exceptional range of projects, from a house in a favela to cutting-edge cultural centers and innovative public spaces that are sure to impress. As a crowdsourced award, we are proud to say that your selections are a true reflection of the state of architecture, and this year's finalists are no exception.
The ArchDaily Building of the Year Awards is brought to you thanks to Dornbracht, renowned for leading designs for architecture, which can be found internationally in bathrooms and kitchens.
When one steps into a Starbucks, they almost instantly know they are in the famed coffeehouse, and not at a McDonald's. Apart from the uniformed staff and a giant sign at the door, there are countless other factors that make a Starbucks look like a Starbucks. Textures, materials, shapes, colors, layouts, furniture, and lighting all contribute to the experience of being in a branded environment. These elements are replicated globally to create an identifiable image. As economic patterns change, brands are looking at extending their identities into spatial experiences in order to better engage with their customers in their daily lives.
The rationality of orthogonal shapes dominates architecture, despite grand gestures that have sought to oppose themselves throughout history. In large-scale production, the right angles, repetition and modularity of the block or grid of pillars help in the efficiency of construction, despite reproducing the same spatial solutions. Unlike buildings, interior architecture can propose alternatives to break this rationality, whether from partitions or decorative objects.
Interior design has progressively become a subject of interest among architects and designers. Having spent more time indoors recently, practitioners have been experimenting with their spaces and exploring different approaches to scale, comfort, and aesthetics. Much like everything else, design is highly influenced by external factors; any change to people's lifestyle influences how they respond to it, whether consciously or subconsciously. And while this dynamic is often seen in fashion or graphic design, it has been noticeable in interior design as well. Following years of linear, clean-cut, and refined spaces, curved silhouettes were revived, becoming one of the dominating interior design trends across the world.
The 61st edition of The Salone del Mobile transformed its general layout and program, including Euroluce, the iconic International Lighting Exhibition in Milan. Curated by architect Beppe Finessi, in collaboration with Formafantasma and the studio Lombardini22, the new vision for The Salone del Mobile will improve accessibility and the trade fair and user experience. Running from 18th to 23rd April 2023 at Rho Fiera Milano, the 2023 Salone will focus on schools and universities under the theme "Design School."
Islands have proved to be great favorites of contemporary kitchens, appearing in environments of different sizes, styles, and with different materials. Before installing a kitchen island, however, it is necessary to think about a few factors to make a better design decision.
As we wrap up 2022, we take a look back at how this year introduced new adaptations to the way we live, work, and interact with our built environment, especially after emerging from years of unprecedented changes. One way to describe this year's design identity is that there isn't one. Going through this transitional period, inspiration came from foreign travels, immersive virtual worlds, being one with the planet and the serenity that came with it, platforms that promote expressionism and individuality, and a trend-setting generation known for its bold perspectives.
Whether an apartment building, house, storefront, office interior, or restaurant, Glenn Sestig’s architecture consistently reveals itself in tidy fragments of robust and determinately monumental geometry that tends to evoke urban qualities. His austere facades, colonnades, stair landings, and even reception desks and shelf displays appear to be quite hefty and substantial. And, in fact, every project, be it a small boutique or gallery, starts with rigorous planning – visual primary and secondary axes get established, circulation flow is laid out, and major anchors are identified before the architect moves on to addressing the appropriate materials, surfaces, and details. Every space is architecture first; its program and appearance will fit into it.
Playfulness is a concept often attributed to children and hardly connected with adult life. In architecture, projects dedicated to childhood propose a combination of objects, colors and solutions to encourage imagination and break the rigidity of spaces. In contrast, most conventional projects are limited to regularity and stamp the sobriety of adult life.
Vertical circulation may be just one of the functions of a ladder. Always occupying a reasonable area, this element can serve to bring some other uses when it is thought of in a more integrated way with the entire room, providing living spaces, storage and also a greater aesthetic appeal. That is why we have gathered some ideas on how to occupy the areas around a staircase in different projects: from home to industrial scale.
Designing a living room is not just about deciding on the sofa and rug set. Often, because it is the main environment of the house, it is connected with other programs of more public use, such as kitchens and offices - or even private, such as dormitories, in the case of apartments with a reduced area -, therefore, in order to conceive greater spatial flow, it is necessary to think of different strategies that help design a more comfortable and pleasant space.
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.
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.
The rise of co-living has begun to radically shape interior design. In residential projects and commercial developments, co-living is tied to the emergence of the Kitchenless Home idea. Began by Spanish architect Anna Puigjaner, this idea is tied to a range of innovations in interior design and co-living that have been built over the last five years. In turn, these new interiors began to tell a story of housing and spatial experience rooted in modern life.
Although the design and layout of bathrooms we use nowadays date back millennia, they are still considered as one of the most difficult to design and renovate. During the earliest stages of planning a bathroom, there are plenty of rules of thumb to follow, especially since it involves a lot of association and “pre-planning” with plumbing, electrical circuits, angular or uniquely-shaped fittings, and small floor areas. We will explore the basics of bathroom plumbing and where to allocate each fixture to optimize the bathroom's layout, facilitating your DIY remodel project or creating the space from scratch.
Over the years, interior design has evolved according to the needs that arise, but above all according to the experiences it seeks to evoke in the user. In the last two years we have witnessed a radical change and a special interest in this subject because the pandemic forced us to pay specific attention to the configuration of the places we inhabit. This brought about much more holistic designs that seek to address the wellbeing of the user, combining colours, sensory experiences, technology and natural elements that promote health.
