Interviews: The Latest Architecture and News

Dedicated to sustainability, Plant Prefab has partnered up with Koto Design to create 2 new Net-Zero LivingHomes. The prefabricated modular homes inspired by Scandinavian architecture, embrace biophilic and sustainable living.

Liam Young was once described by the BBC as "the man designing our futures". The Australian-born architect and director has carved a vibrant path through architectural discourse, standing at the intersection of design, technology, and media. A self-described "speculative architect", Young is the co-founder of thinktank Tomorrow's Thoughts Today, using vivid imagery and films to spark conversations about the future of the built environment, and the relationships between humans and machines, bits and atoms, artificial and natural. He also co-runs the Unknown Fields Division, a nomadic research studio that travels the world in search of landscapes that speak to his focus on global flows of materials, technologies, and ideas.

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In this short video by Louisiana Channel, Junya Ishigami talks about Tokyo and what he sees as the defining traits of the vibrant and diverse metropole. Discussing what he likes about the city, the renowned Japanese architect underlines Tokyo’s polycentrism and explains how being made up of different small town allows the city to preserve its very local characteristics.

White Arkitekter, in collaboration with Silicon Valley-based ReGen Villages, have joined forces to create fully circular, self-sufficient and resilient communities in Sweden. Inspired by computer games, the project puts in place organic food production, locally produced and stored energy, comprehensive recycling, and climate positive buildings.

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Reparametrize Studio has followed up their ongoing research “Re-Coding Post-War Syria”, with a project that focuses on analyzing the damaged fabric of post-war cities through 3D scanning technologies. Taking a Street in Zamalka Town in Damascus, Syria as a case study, the investigation can distinguish the areas in need of reconstruction from the areas in useful conditions.

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Located in the sustainability zone of EXPO 2020 Dubai, the Czech pavilion, designed by Formosa AA and R/FRM, is an invitation for discovery. Raising questions concerning desert cultivation, it integrates and exposes the S.A.W.E.R. system cultivation plant. Visible technologies form the main formal and visual components of the pavilion.

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Humans can survive for 30 days without eating, 3 days without drinking, yet only 3 minutes without breathing. Of course our need for air is also constant, we rely on it at all times indoors and outdoors although can often be less clean than we would hope. Unpleasant odors make us aware of bad air, but many irritants and unhealthy gases are not easily detectable by smell while still affecting our health. Smells are the most obvious signal, as they are consciously perceived by the brain and nervous system, allowing us to make judgements about our environment.

Learn more about where poor indoor air quality comes from, why it's important to address within the built environment, and how to design for good indoor air quality and comfort.

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Warsaw-based FAAB studio envisioned a mixed-use development that enhances its own environment, while involving its inhabitants in the process. In fact, the prototype architectural intervention aims to give tools for people to control and manage the changing climate.

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One of our responsibilities as architects is to understand how to implement strategies into our designs that consider the people who inhabit the spaces,  our natural resource consumption, and ensuring these projects are profitable. All of this can be achieved through three main goals: Reducing our carbon footprint, creating healthy workplaces, and the design of efficient and profitable buildings.

WOHA and BRAC University have unveiled the latest images from the 5.3-acre university campus, scheduled for completion in 2021. Located in Dhaka, Bangladesh, the intervention will transform a polluted and flooded wasteland into a sustainable inner-city campus and public park.

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PAU or Practice for Architecture and Urbanism, a multi-disciplinary design and planning firm founded by Vishaan Chakrabarti, created a revitalization plan for Sunnyside Yard in western Queens, New York. Envisioning a more equitable and sustainable future, the 180-acre human-centered carbon-neutral master plan reflects the community’s needs.

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Centennial College, Ontario's first public college, has collaborated with DIALOG, Smoke Architecture, and EllisDon to design and build the first zero-carbon, mass timber higher-education building in the country. Scheduled for completion in 2023, the new gateway structure will bring together Indigenous and Western cultures in both form and function.

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