Tag: reinforced-concrete | ArchDaily

Carlo Ratti Associati Designs Buzzi Heritage Cultural Center in Italy With the New Digital Construction System

Reyyan Dogan — Tue, 17 Mar 2026 06:30:00 +0000

CRA–Carlo Ratti Associati has been selected to design the Buzzi Heritage cultural center in Casale Monferrato, Italy. The proposal introduces a 100-meter-long suspended truss that links two former educational buildings, consolidating archival, research, and cultural functions within a single structure. The project also marks the first real-world application of a patented structural system developed through research by Carlo Ratti Associati in partnership with Maestro Technologies. Positioned above a system of open spaces, the intervention reconfigures the site as a publicly accessible cultural complex while maintaining a clear distinction between built and landscaped areas.

Calibrated Rawness: Studio 1:1 and the Discipline of Making in Hong Kong and Beyond

Jonathan Yeung — Thu, 26 Feb 2026 04:00:00 +0000

In Hong Kong, where interiors and small buildings are routinely caught between two extremes—high-gloss "luxury" finishes on one end, and budget-cautious industrial roughness on the other—a third attitude has emerged through the calibration of both: a uniquely precise, relevant, and materially honest execution that is not dependent on price point. This is calibrated rawness. Calibrated rawness describes an architecture that retains the directness of matter and materiality—concrete, metal, blockwork, exposed structure, visible services—while subjecting it to rigorous control.

More Than Gray: 15 Projects That Explore Red Pigmented Concrete

Diogo Borges Ferreira — Thu, 31 Jul 2025 07:30:00 +0000

Concrete is often seen as the material of modernity, defined by its structural strength, raw finish, and unmistakable gray tone. It became the default palette of 20th-century architecture, a symbol of functionality and permanence. Yet, concrete is not bound to this chromatic identity. Its color is a byproduct of the cement, aggregates, and chemical composition used in its mix, and it can be intentionally altered through pigmentation. Among the many hues explored, red stands out — not only for its visual intensity, but for its ability to root buildings in place, evoke cultural references, and imbue architecture with a material presence that feels both elemental and expressive.

Healing Through Design: The Story Behind Alvar Aalto’s Paimio Sanatorium

Diogo Borges Ferreira — Fri, 07 Feb 2025 04:00:00 +0000

In the early 20th century, tuberculosis presented a significant public health challenge across Europe, prompting the construction of specialized facilities for patient recovery. The Paimio Sanatorium in Finland stands as a groundbreaking example of architecture's potential to promote healing. Designed by Alvar Aalto between 1929 and 1933, the sanatorium combined innovative design principles with a deep understanding of human needs, setting new benchmarks for healthcare architecture.

Gustav Düsing Transforms 1970s Printing Facility into Educational Hub in Siegen, Germany

Nour Fakharany — Tue, 28 May 2024 05:30:00 +0000

Gustav Düsing and FAKT have just won the competition to design an adaptive reuse project in Siegen, Germany. Following Gustav Düsing’s recent win of the EU Mies Award 2024, the NAS project was developed through a comprehensive participatory process involving students, faculty, staff, and community members. The New Architecture School (NAS) is an adaptive reuse proposal transforming the former printing facility into a new type of central campus. Aspiring to act as a dynamic urban entity, the design combines academic pursuits with cultural and public spaces.

The Expressiveness of Exposed Concrete: Exploring the Works of Luciano Kruk

Agustina Iñiguez — Sat, 25 May 2024 07:30:00 +0000

In response to the diverse topographies and natural conditions throughout the Argentine territory, the works of Luciano Kruk propose an architecture that works in harmony with the environment, the landscape, and the nature in which they are situated. Whether immersed in a forest, on sloping terrain, or on a rural plain, among other geographies, his intention is to enhance the relationship between the interior and exterior of the architecture, using concrete as the main material in most of his projects.

Learn to Pre-Dimension a Reinforced Concrete Structure

João Carlos Souza — Tue, 14 May 2024 07:30:00 +0000

It's fundamental that architects know about structures, not only to bring their designs to reality but also to be able to discuss their projects with engineers in order to find the best solutions for construction. Structural pre-dimensioning is crucial to the initial design of the structural components, revealing the restrictions and the possibilities of the spaces.

Recently Restored Argentinian Icon La Casa sobre el Arroyo Receives 2024 World Monuments Fund/Knoll Modernism Prize

Nour Fakharany — Wed, 14 Feb 2024 05:30:00 +0000

The 1940s architectural marvel Casa Sobre el Arroyo has been awarded the 2024 Worlds Monuments Fund/Knoll Modernism Prize for its outstanding restoration. Initially designed in 1943 by architects Amancio Williams and Delfina Galvez Bunge de Williams, this “house on the bridge” symbolizes Argentina’s modernist movement. The project is the first winner of the prestigious Modernism prize in the Global South, now standing as a museum for the protection of Argentina’s modern heritage.

Transforming Waste into Pixels of Glassfiber-Reinforced Concrete

Enrique Tovar — Thu, 01 Feb 2024 06:45:00 +0000

Nowadays, the concepts of reducing waste and upcycling have experienced a remarkable expansion in various fields of architecture, driven by the need to change the paradigm of consumption habits in both society and industry. This wave not only responds to sustainable approaches but has also demonstrated significant benefits in economic terms. Today, the transformation of various resources, from excavated earth to agro-waste and plastics, is being carried out to create new materials, thus consolidating the efficiency and feasibility of more environmentally friendly practices.

Beyond Reinforcement: Exploring Creative Uses for Steel Rebars

Eduardo Souza — Tue, 15 Aug 2023 07:30:00 +0000

Concrete has enormous resistance to compressive stress, but it is a fragile material in terms of tension, which occurs when forces are applied in opposite directions of a structure, tending to separate the parts. This is why the incorporation of steel into concrete –which provides high levels of strength when stretched– has made so-called reinforced concrete the world's most widely used construction method. In other words, reinforced concrete combines the intrinsic advantages of its two components (concrete and steel reinforcement) to produce an extremely robust, versatile, and practical material. These steel reinforcements, in addition to reinforcing concrete, can also be used in art installations, facades, and even interiors.

Concrete Barrel Vaults Applied in 10 Projects of Contemporary Architecture

Paula Pintos — Wed, 06 Apr 2022 07:30:00 +0000

The oldest record of barrel vaults is estimated to date back to 4000 BC. These provided the spans in the Sumerian ziggurat at Nippur in Babylonia, built from fired bricks amalgamated with clay mortar. This type of vault was built as a continuous round arch and became a characteristic architectural element of Roman architecture, later used also in Renaissance architecture.

Cork Oak House / Hugo Pereira Arquitetos

Valeria Silva — Fri, 18 Dec 2020 16:00:00 +0000

The objective of the project was the construction of a single family house on a plot of extraordinary morphological characteristics, which remained almost intact and unchanged. The land, with approximately 12 thousand square meters, is located in an area of natural protection due to the existence of several cork oak trees, where the implantation of the house allowed the maintenance of all the existing trees.

What Do The Cracks in Concrete Structures Mean?

João Carlos Souza — Thu, 22 Aug 2019 07:30:00 +0000

Cracks, which could be classified according to their thickness as fissures or fractures, are serious problems in the construction industry that can negatively affect aesthetics, durability and, most importantly, the structural characteristics of a project. They can happen anywhere, but occur especially in walls, beams, columns, and slabs, and usually, are caused by strains not considered in the design.

Marubá Residence / Padovani Arquitetos

Andreas Luco — Thu, 02 May 2019 10:00:00 +0000

This project was developed for a couple with three adult children. This page is a top of the field in accentuated aclive, the customers were the one time in the most extents uneven on the ground floor.

AM House / NVArquitetura

Pilar Caballero — Wed, 10 Apr 2019 14:00:00 +0000

The AM House Project, completed in 2017, was designed for a couple of old office clients who, experienced and attentive, participated in all the details. They wanted a house that reflected their personality, which was not dated, with the refinement of what is traditional but compromised the priorities of our time: comfort and technology.The house is all automated and has photovoltaic energy, making the project a synthesis of its decisions and intentions of life for the future.

OSH House / OTP arquitetura

Daniel Tapia — Mon, 25 Mar 2019 08:00:00 +0000

A two-story Project built in a 250 sqm site located in the countryside of São Paulo state, the site área is considerably small so the greatest conception challenge was to build a house where the social áreas were unsegregated creating the sensation of amplitude. The upper store is made of a simple and sober concept, supported by two columns in the garage, that support results in a 2,70m cantilever searching for lightness to the building, a metal brise soleil controls the natural light and unifies the facade.

A History of Concrete Molds, From Thomas Edison's Failed Cement Company to "Habitat 67"

Pablo Jimenez-Moreno — Sat, 25 Aug 2018 06:00:00 +0000

The use of concrete in construction is probably one of the main trademarks of 20th century architecture. Concrete is composed of a combination of materials which when mixed with water solidify into the shape of the container where it is poured in. In this sense, it is the container or the ‘moulds’ who rule the outcome. The reuse of molds for casting concrete is a technique used to replicate and control the production of concrete elements or buildings. Architects and designers have used/created diverse types of molds and casting techniques to explore the limits of the material.

ETH Zurich Fabricated the World's First Full-Scale Architectural Project Using 3-D Sand Printing

Dima Stouhi — Fri, 03 Aug 2018 08:00:00 +0000

Complex designs often require bulky structural systems to support imaginative forms. But 3D printing technology has begun to provide unlimited architectural potential without compromising design or structural durability. Researchers at ETH Zurich, under the leadership of Benjamin Dillenburger, have now developed an innovative 3D sand printing technique that allows for quick molding and material reuse.