PORTO ALEGRE, RS, BRAZIL, 05/07/2024 - General photos of floods, Av Loureiro da Silva, CAFF and region. Photos: Gustavo Mansur/ Piratini Palace. Flickr user licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0 DEED Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic
The world has changed, and accepting this fact is no longer a matter of choice but survival. Our rainfall patterns, periods of drought, average temperatures, sea levels—everything is in constant flux. The denialist stance of many countries, including Brazil, has led to catastrophic situations like the one we are facing now.
The floods that devastated the southern region of the country in recent days cannot be considered isolated incidents. Due to global warming, climate events like this will become increasingly frequent. In other words, unfortunately, we cannot prevent them from happening, but we can—and must—make our cities more resilient to these situations.
Recycled Ceramic Washbasin. Image Courtesy of VitrA
Producing sustainable materials and products demands constant analysis of how we conserve resources and manage waste effectively. This unfolds within a scenario where the environmental impacts of global warming and the climate crisis are becoming increasingly evident. In that context, sustaining the dialogue on waste disposal is fundamental to positively impacting our environment and maximizing circular economy opportunities.
Embracing this perspective and demonstrating a commitment to sustainability through waste reduction and resource conservation, VitrA has created an entire washbasin with 100%* recycled waste materials, including discarded ceramics from its production process. This innovative product has been designed to have a minimal environmental impact and reduce the global warming potential of its production by 30% per product, transforming materials once considered waste into valuable resources.
https://www.archdaily.com/1016103/repurposing-discarded-waste-materials-into-a-100-percent-star-recycled-washbasinEnrique Tovar
Ma Yansong/MAD Architects has unveiled their design for the Cloud 9 Sports Center, a 6,000-square-meter athletic complex in the city of Shijiazhuang, China. The venue is proposed to become the focal point of CBD's Central Park, marking the public space surrounded by residential, commercial, and recreational amenities. The center is designed to showcase a soft and fluid exterior to fit into its surroundings, mirroring the landscaped park while offering a range of facilities including a gym, indoor and outdoor tennis courts, and commercial spaces. The new sports center broke ground in March this year and is expected to be completed in 2025.
Plastic Island. Image Courtesy of Emily-Claire Goksøyr
As you read this, you may notice that you are surrounded by several items made of plastic. This omnipresence is no coincidence; the versatility of plastic has made it suitable for a variety of applications, and was described by its inventor—Leo Baekeland— as “the material of a thousand uses.” However, when it comes to environmental impact, the problem lies in its very qualities: it is so durable, adaptable, and easy to produce (430 million tons per year) that, according to UN data, the equivalent of 2,000 garbage trucks full of plastic are dumped into the oceans, rivers, and lakes every day.
In the built environment, plastic has been incorporated into various materials, products, and construction systems, contributing to an environmental crisis that seriously affects the well-being of millions of living beings. Faced with this problem, one possible direction is to shift away from utilizing it. The search for plastic-free alternatives is marking a path toward a future where architecture is progressively disassociating itself from these polluting materials, promoting sustainable solutions that reduce our dependence on it and contribute to preserving the environment.
https://www.archdaily.com/1016334/making-the-case-for-plastic-free-architecture-innovative-solutions-for-the-present-and-futureEnrique Tovar
Videos
Fused filament fabrication for multi-kinematic-state climate responsive aperture. Image Cortesia de David Correa / Achim Menges
While we are still trying to understand the possibilities and limits of three-dimensional printing and additive manufacturing, a new term has emerged for our vocabulary. 4D printing is nothing more than a digital manufacturing technology -3D printing- which includes a new dimension: the temporal. This means that the printed material, once ready, will be able to modify, transform or move autonomously due to its intrinsic properties that respond to environmental stimuli.
The concept was popularized by researcher Skylar Tibbits, who coordinates the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Self-Assembly Lab, in collaboration with Stratasys and Autodesk. The technology is still quite new, but it is expected to be used in many fields, from construction, infrastructure, automobile and aeronautics and even for healthcare, combined with bioprinting.
On May 4, 2024, cultural center Grace Farms opened a new long-term exhibition that aims to shed light on the inner workings of the building industry, offering insights into the methods of producing and distributing building materials, as well as the pervasive practices of forced labor happening in the materials supply chain worldwide. The exhibition also presents the work of “Design for Freedom,” a collaborative global movement launched in 2020 at Grace Farms. The initiative aims to change architecture by raising awareness of these issues and helping disrupt forced labor in the construction industry. Titled “With Every Fiber,” the exhibit is free to visit both at its physical location in New Canaan, Connecticut, and online as a virtual exhibition.
This year's Milan Design Week brought together designers, architects, producers, and key figures from the design world. The events were divided between the Salone del Mobile at Rho Fiera, a trade fair with over 1950 exhibitors, and Fourisalone, featuring various events across Milan. With numerous installations throughout the city and a wide range of events, conferences, and debates, Milan Design Week stands as one of the most significant design-focused events worldwide. For architects, this represents an opportunity to not only exchange ideas but also to actively contribute through collaborations and explorations across disciplines.
This year, many internationally recognized architects have entered collaborations with furniture and light design companies, exploring the intersection of design and architecture. Despite the change in scale, many of these products reflect the recognizable architectural language of their designers, offering an insight into the principles that guide their practice. In addition to aesthetic explorations, many of the products selected are tackling important themes of interest, from the need to develop more sustainable materials with a reduced carbon footprint, to the potential impact of new technologies such as artificial intelligence.
Following an international competition, Steven Holl Architects has been selected as the winner of the commission for the Expo Albania convention center and hotel in Tirana, Albania. The winning team, comprised of Steven Holl Architects, artist Agnieszka Kurant, Atelier 4, Atelier Markgraph, Stoss, and Arup, proposes an iterative process, collecting signatures from local Tirana communities and fusing them into a single wandering line, a continuation of artist Agnieszka Kurant’s project “End of Signature”.
When Wallace S. Broecker first introduced the concept of global warming in the 1970s, society probably didn't anticipate the implications of this phenomenon. Today, more than 50 years later, we have stopped predicting an adverse climate scenario and have begun witnessing it directly. It is now evident that the earth is breaking temperature records year after year, as a result of a disparity in the global response to the issue and a slow-moving reduction in carbon emissions.
To reduce CO₂ emissions in architecture, it is crucial to implement effective strategies that address both the manufacturing of materials and the life cycle of buildings, as well as energy consumption during use. In countries like the US, approximately 45% of energy consumption in the residential sector is allocated to heating and cooling spaces, making it essential to address efficient building design, especially on the façade. To achieve this objective, policies are being implemented that promote a conversion towards a more sustainable model. In this new model, sustainability certifications for buildings provide a framework for measuring and evaluating resource consumption.
https://www.archdaily.com/1016044/the-curtain-a-key-element-in-the-certification-of-sustainable-buildingsEnrique Tovar
Google Earth and Maxar Technologies, organized by Adriano Liziero (@geopanoramas)
The world has its eyes on the Amazon. Geographical data about this vast territory, spanning 6.74 million square kilometers across eight countries in Latin America, is constantly featured in national and international media. Headlines often highlight its sheer magnitude as the largest tropical rainforest in the world, home to 10% of the planet's biodiversity, and responsible for 15% of the Earth's freshwater. However, little attention is paid to what transpires beneath its canopy, on the ground where people live.
Housing is a diverse architectural typology whose configuration is determined not only by those who design it but also by the use of those who live in it. Therefore, homes are fundamentally adaptable structures that evolve in line with their time and users, undergoing constant changes manifested in the ways of living. The house conceived today will not be the same as the one built tomorrow, so it becomes necessary to maintain a critical and profound approach to the role it plays in the built environment.
In this sense, modular architecture has consistently presented itself as a dynamic design strategy that has revolutionized housing, developing versatile solutions for sustainable spaces and construction practices. Thus, modular housing has been fertile ground for exploring and deepening ways of inhabiting space and addressing human needs. From the prefabricated catalog houses of the 19th century to the post-World War II housing boom, its evolution reflects both past proposals and the exploration of new concepts for the future.
https://www.archdaily.com/1015545/how-can-modular-design-be-used-to-revolutionize-housing-architectureEnrique Tovar
Obra realizada com Mass Timber Urbem. Image Cortesia de Urbem
At a time when sustainability and ESG (environmental, social, and governance) concerns are prevalent, there is a crucial need to focus on a sector that accounts for 38% of all global CO₂ emissions and consumes 30% of global resources: the construction industry. In 2022, at COP27, the United Nations announced the Clean Construction Accelerator, a program with actions designed to reduce greenhouse gas production by up to 50% by 2030. A report by ARUP and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development suggests that half of building emissions come from embodied carbon, which is generated in the manufacturing and transportation of materials, not just in construction sites and buildings themselves. It is precisely in this scenario that we see an opportunity for the sector. What is the only renewable material in construction that retains carbon instead of emitting it? Wood.
When thinking of wood, another question tends to arise: "How can wood be sustainable if we need to cut down trees for it?” Ana Belizário, the Commercial Director of Urbem, a large-scale Brazilian mass timber industry, explains throughout this article how planting trees specifically for consumption is not only a sustainable alternative but also an excellent practice in combating the climate crisis and can regenerate the construction sector.
ZEB Living Lab is a research building that stands out for its pioneering initiative among zero-emission buildings, seeking to have a significant impact on the future. Located in Trondheim, Norway, it is much more than just a building; it is a tangible manifestation of the global commitment to sustainability and innovation. Conceived as an advanced research laboratory and a practical example of sustainable construction practices, it represents the point of convergence between architecture, technology and environmental awareness. Managed in collaboration between NTNU (Norwegian University of Science and Technology) and SINTEF (Scandinavian Institute of Technology), this center of scientific excellence is a platform for living experimentation, where innovative materials and solutions are developed, tested and demonstrated in direct interaction with the building occupants.
Every year, Earth Day, celebrated on April 22, presents us with an opportunity to contemplate the conditions of our planet and our impact upon it. Generating around 37% of global carbon emissions, the construction industry has an important, often detrimental, role to play, thus placing an increasingly urgent responsibility on architects and builders to devise strategies for reducing this number. Still, the built environment represents the habitat for most of humanity, and so it has the potential to protect and shelter people from the risks posed by the changing climate. Read on to discover a collection of articles delving into the strategies available at urban and architectural scales for mitigating the effects of climate change and minimizing the industry’s impact upon it.
While hybrid working and flexible hours represent the most obvious ways to improve work/life balance for many, because of the missed social interactions and the lack of space or functionality at unproductive home workspaces, the majority of 16-24-year-olds are the only age group who prefer to work from the office.
Piazza Gae Aulenti - Milano. Image Courtesy of Salone del Mobile.Milano
As Milan Design Week begins, the Italian city is transformed into the grounds of one of the most expansive celebrations of global design, with its streets and venues brimming with cultural events, exhibitions, large-scale installations, talks and conferences. At Rho Fiera, the 62nd edition of the Salone del Mobile.Milano brings together designers, architects, producers and leading figures of the design world, featuring over 1950 exhibitors which will remain open for the next 6 days. Additionally, across the city Fuorisalone opens up locations across the city with an engaging and varied cultural program.
Introspection, Elevation, Covering-Up. Image Courtesy of Enrique Tovar
The flexibility of architecture allows it to continuously change and adjust its form in response to technological progress, social and artistic trends, and the collective experiences we undergo. Large-scale global events, such as the transatlantic migrations of the 19th century, the impact of tuberculosis on design, and most recently, the effects of the last major global health crisis (COVID-19), have all played significant roles in shaping the evolution of architecture.
In the context of the climate crisis, the role of architecture and urbanism has been extensively debated, as it represents one of the greatest challenges of this century. It is undeniable that while there are active efforts through policies and innovation to prevent reaching a point of no return, architecture is already adapting to the changes and extreme conditions caused by it. Rather than thinking of a distant or dystopian future scenario, the gradual changes in climatic conditions have been drivers for modifying, through architectural operations, how we conceive contemporary buildings.
https://www.archdaily.com/1015368/introspection-elevation-covering-up-radical-architectural-operations-for-adverse-climatesEnrique Tovar
The Vitra Design Museum presents 'Transform! Designing the Future of Energy', an exhibition running from March 23rd to September 1st, 2024. As energy stands as the cornerstone of modern society, the subject encompasses political, social, and environmental dimensions. The exhibition aims to highlight design’s role in the effort to transform the energy sector into a more efficient, reliable, and sustainable one, relying more on renewable sources, smart mobility systems, and moving towards self-sufficient cities.
