Nature: The Latest Architecture and News

Transcendentalist philosophers have long shared the idea that humans and nature are equal forces that should coexist in harmony. The notion has since expanded to the architecture world, with Frank Lloyd Wright shedding light on the term “organic architecture” as early as the 1900s. In recent years, driven by an increased interest in living closer to nature, architects continue to delve into the concept of integrating interior and exterior, blurring out visual and physical boundaries to bring landscapes indoors.

In Sky-Frame’s latest film, part of the series “My point of view”, a conversation with architect Dara Huang explores this notion, questioning how architecture can merge nature, sustainability and lifestyle within its form, without relying on more technology or materials to do so.

For the 17th Venice Architecture Biennale, the Dominican Republic presents the exhibition CONEXIÓN by artist and architect LiLeón (Lidia León Cabral) and art critic Roberta Semeraro. Hosted at Venice's Anglican Church, the project lies at the intersection of art and interior architecture, and is inspired by "the bond between the Dominican Republic and Mother Earth".

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In 1941, Swiss engineer George de Mestral was coming back from a hunting trip with his dog when he noticed that some seeds kept sticking to his clothes and his dog's fur. He observed that they contained several "hooks" that caught on anything with a loop, and from studying this plant, seven years later, he invented the hook and loop fastener, which he named Velcro.

If you are in a place impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, spending 20 minutes experiencing nature in a park, street, or even your backyard can significantly reduce your stress levels. Just be sure to follow federal, state, and local guidelines and maintain social distancing of 6 feet or 2 meters. But even if you cannot or are unable to go outside, taking a break by opening a window and looking at a tree or plant can also help de-stress.

Going beyond human scale is not a novelty. For centuries, builders, engineers, and architects have been creating monumental edifices to mark spirituality or political power. Larger than life palaces, governmental buildings, or temples have always attracted people’s admiration and reverence, nourishing the still not fully comprehensible obsession with large scale builds.

Nowadays, some of the largest and most impressive structures relate less to religious or governmental functions and seem to be turning towards more cultural programs. Most importantly though, today’s grandiose works are generally and openly imitative of Nature.

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Bees are perhaps the insects that most arouse our fascination and curiosity. With the exception of Antarctica, they are found on all continents, in all habitats that contain insect-pollinated flowering plants. Representations of humans collecting honey from wild bees date back to 15,000 years ago, and pots of honey have even been found in the tombs of Egyptian pharaohs like Tutankhamen. Although we generally have a fixed idea about what cartoon bees look like, there are thousands of species around the world, with different sizes, colors and behaviors. There are even several examples of solitary bees, many without stingers, and even some species that survive by plundering other weaker colonies. But something that has consistently impressed researchers is the organization of their hives, which are truly highly populated cities with an efficiency to make any urban planner envious.

CRA - Carlo Ratti Associati has unveiled a major extension for Brazilia, reinterpreting “Lúcio Costa and Oscar Niemeyer’s modernist master plan for Biotic - a high-tech innovation district immersed in nature”. Developed in collaboration with Ernst&Young, the project that started in 2018 reimagines primarily the superblocks.

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Moving away from its early exclusive focus on natural disasters, resilient architecture and design tackles the much tougher challenge of helping ecosystems regenerate.

Thirty years ago, as a high school student at the Cranbrook boarding school in suburban Detroit, I wrote a research-based investigative report on the environmental crisis for the student newspaper. I had been encouraged to do so by a faculty adviser, David Watson, who lived a double life as a radical environmentalist writing under the pseudonym George Bradford for the anarchist tabloid Fifth Estate. His diatribe How Deep Is Deep Ecology? questioned a recurring bit of cant from the radical environmental movement: Leaders of groups like Earth First! frequently disparaged the value of human life in favor of protecting nature.

Design and the City is a podcast by reSITE, raising questions and proposing solutions for the city of the future. In the fifth episode, Yosuke Hayano, principal partner for MAD Architects, talks about Creating Emotional Connections to Nature. Always asking “How do you bring modern architecture into the future and connect humans with nature?” Hayano discusses the creative approach of the firm.

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With a subtropical climate, high temperatures and environment favored by the rains, Vietnam has, as one of its main features, landscapes with vegetation in abundance, privileged by the fertile soil and the weather conditions. Ingrained in this scenario, Vietnamese architecture seems to embrace the nature as its protagonist increasingly, miming natural elements along with the rusticity of the concrete surfaces.

With this idea in mind, we selected 20 Vietnamese house projects already published on ArchDaily that incorporate natural elements into their façades and inside spaces. Check the list below!