Widely recognized as being responsible for 8% of global CO2 emissions, concrete should be a blacklisted material, relegated to the shameful annals of architectural history. Rapid global urbanization, however, will ensure its unequaled production simplicity and structural strength help retain concrete’s firm grip on the construction industry.
If you can’t beat it, improve it: is the industry’s mantra on innovation, currently developing various alternatives to concrete or its constituent parts and admixtures. So with a concrete set for the environmental green list, the concrete revolution –using the material as an aesthetic exterior facade, interior decoration and fittings, or even in furniture and lighting, as well as a structural framework– is free to continue.
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.
The design of cabinets and shelves is fundamental for the composition of the interior of a house. Their functions can be the most diverse - home libraries, storage, artwork and decorative elements display -, but with a little architectural ingenuity it is possible to make them protagonists, adding not only an aesthetic value to the room, but making the environment more versatile. Therefore, we have separated some tips and references to inspire your next project.
In the majority of family homes, it’s common for children to be given the smallest rooms. They are, after all, the smallest people. But where grown-ups have the rest of the house to fill with their accrued material wealth, children’s only freedom to decide what they do and where things go, is in that one small room.
Learning about the world can be frustrating, and quickly lead to misdiagnosed ‘bad’ behavior. So creating a safe, welcoming, comfortable space where children can feel calm, loved, and protected while enjoying their independence and individuality, is essential for a happy, healthy childhood. Children’s bedroom design, therefore, has more in common with open-plan living than simple sleeping quarters.
As the post-pandemic generation of the workplace takes shape, office comfort is fast becoming its main selling point. But that can’t just mean big, comfy ‘working’ sofas and a few scatter cushions. With the hybrid options of home, office, or third space on the table, the majority of employees still choose to spend a large proportion of their working time together, benefitting from the community feeling and creative atmosphere, but most of all the professional working environment and interior. So while comfortably cozy spaces help them feel at home, the traditional set-up with individual desks and chairs for quiet focus, can’t be underestimated
With rising rental rates and major firms already in the process of downsizing to survive the digital work era, only flexibly and adaptably designed workplaces can provide both comfortable and focused typologies.
A city of electric architectural diversity – Belgrade’s Modernist structures give the Serbian capital a unique character. The grey of Belgrade’s Brutalist concrete is one of the city’s architectural signatures, existing in both complex volumetric facades and monolithic rectilinear forms. But while a plethora of architectural appraisals has been conducted on the external qualities of brutalist structures in Belgrade and beyond, photographic documentation of Belgrade’s brutalist interiors is relatively rare – something that photographer Inês d’Orey has sought to change in her most recent exhibition.
Dimensions, textures and colors are not the only factors to consider when designing a space. Choosing the right lighting also rises as a key strategy to create a project’s atmosphere. Appropriate lighting adds new aspects to space. Within the same project, different ways of applying light develops diverse situations, playing with light and shade, warmness and coldness, as well as depth and height.
Through the boundless lighting products available in Architonic’s ‘Interior lighting’ and ‘Outdoor lighting’ sections, architects are able to play with a new angle to design their future projects. The following discussion brings up four ways - path guides, outside lighting, art objects and a combination with furniture - in which architecture applies lighting as a design strategy.
The first full-size London Design Festival (LDF) for three years, and the event’s 20th anniversary year, this was meant to be a celebration. But life, as the saying goes, had other plans. Rocked by the news of HRH Queen Elizabeth II’s passing, the country, and indeed the world started the London Design Festival in a period of mourning. Having reigned over the densest period of design innovation in human history, however, her majesty was no stranger to change.
With long-running themes like sustainability, materials, economic crises, and digital futures never higher in the public’s consciousness, LDF ’22 wasn’t just a professional meet and greet, but a chance to share some much-needed positivity with design enthusiasts, as well as locals, just passing by. Here are the most interesting and talked-about installations and talks from nine days of reflection on the past and hope for the future.
The kitchen emerges as an environment that permeates several issues within domesticity. Ranging from a workspace to a welcome meeting table, this area has evolved a lot over time: more functional designs and different materials and textures that have improved the gastronomic experience. and, more than that, it stopped being an indoor environment to open itself to the outside, exploring through permeability a better quality of light and bringing greater pleasure to those who occupy it.
From an early age, we often hear phrases like “you must sleep a minimum of 8 hours a day.” It’s common knowledge that this brings invaluable health benefits, from reducing stress levels and keeping the immune system strong, to improving concentration, memory and decision-making skills. To guarantee a good night’s rest, having a comfortable bed that suits users’ needs is pivotal, especially considering that humans spend one-third of their entire life sleeping. Thus, when architects, designers and homeowners are faced with different bed options available in the market, the decision must be carefully thought-out and take a number of factors into account, whether related to aesthetics or functionality. But before any stylistic or material decision is made, it is crucial to start with the basics: defining the size of the mattress.
In the architectural conversations we are having in today’s world, conversations on materials are widespread. There is discussion on the viability of concrete in the contemporary context, how timber can be more sustainably sourced, and on how biodegradable materials such as bamboo should be more common sights in our urban environments.
But we also need to be talking about what goes into these buildings – that is, the furniture that decorates, enhances, and makes habitable the buildings around us. The materials used to craft these objects have constantly evolved over centuries, and as we approach the end of 2022, it’s worth asking – what does the future hold for what our furniture will be made from?
Inspired by the warm tones of harvested crops, Wild Wonder was selected as Color of the Year 2023 by AkzoNobel. Extensive research conducted by AkzoNobel, including color experts and international design professionals, identified the "Wonders of the Natural" swatch at the heart of global social and design. This trend is inspired by nature as people are re-evaluating their relationship with the environment as the source of everything in their lives. # d0c599, or pale yellow/ olive green, captures the moment's mood and conveys serenity and positivity after these recent years of uncertainty and despair.
Josh and Matt's apartment embodies their "curated maximalism" style. Image Courtesy of Josh and Matt Design
With the onset of the 2020s, Gen Z is noticeably claiming their place in the world with bold perspectives and even bolder aesthetics. Gen Z proudly experiments with their identities, having grown up on an opinionated internet and through confusing lockdowns. They're bringing in a culture shift with organic shapes, colorful elements, and clashing patterns dominating art, media, fashion, and interior design. The trend is pushing away once-reigning minimalism, shouting Venturi's Less is a Bore.
At sunrise and sunset, the low sun bursts into interior spaces to flood them with joy like no ceiling or wall fixture can. Those times, however, are fleeting and difficult to catch amongst a heavy schedule.
Whether for large multi-generational families, cohabiting cohorts, or retired couples, the kitchen is the heart of our homes. It’s where we spend most of our time and, therefore, where we keep all our stuff. Along with the usual food and cookware, kitchens are also resting places for household utility essentials like cleaning products, laundry facilities, and the infamous ‘everything drawer’.
It is possible, however, to achieve organizational nirvana in the kitchen without living the monk-like lifestyle of an extreme minimalist. Here’s how to design a kitchen that’s well organized and, more importantly, stays that way.
Architects are constantly diving into design strategies that aim to select the best products to create outstanding atmospheres inside their projects. The solutions adopted in projects, especially in interiors, are highly influenced by trends that mirror what society values most at the time. But how are interiors being designed nowadays? With a focus on natural interiors and the interaction with their context, architecture is prioritizing local materials and textures, natural light and the use of minimal furniture that allows continuity throughout space.
Below we present a selection of inspiring projects that, using products from Spanish brands, showcase these modern trends, from the use of natural materials to maximizing natural light.
In large cities, it is becoming increasingly common to find buildings that are capable of admitting different configurations and layouts in their internal spaces. Towards the end of the 1960s, duplex typologies began to appear in buildings in the city of Buenos Aires, when the Building Code allowed them to be located in the obligatory setbacks of the upper floors.
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.
https://www.archdaily.com/987607/before-and-after-10-refurbishments-in-brazilian-apartmentsArchDaily Team
