Tag: saint-gobain | ArchDaily

The Future of Cities: How Can We Build Differently to Promote Resilient and Low-Impact Environments?

Agustina Iñiguez — Mon, 08 Dec 2025 06:45:00 +0000

How does the construction sector shape the future of cities? What challenges does it face? At the crossroads of demographic, social, energy, and climate pressures, the construction sector is changing fast. Professionals, institutions, and citizens are working together to build environments that improve health and well-being, encourages durable and place-responsive solutions, cut carbon emissions, withstand climate risks, and provide affordable, high-quality housing.

Winners Announced for the 19th Saint-Gobain Architecture Student Contest

Rene Submissions — Fri, 21 Jun 2024 06:45:00 +0000

More than 224 universities from 29 countries participated in the 19th edition of the Saint-Gobain Architecture Student Contest’s international final. Students from all over the world imagined projects to transform a district of Helsinki in Finland. The winners have just been revealed during an event held by Saint-Gobain in the Finnish capital between June 10th and 12th, 2024.

Multi-Purpose Design: Hybrid Spaces for a Sustainable Future

Valeria Montjoy — Wed, 18 Oct 2023 06:45:00 +0000

Similar to a chameleon that changes color to blend in with its environment, architecture must constantly evolve and adapt to changing demands. A few decades ago, homes used to be associated solely with private life and rest, while workspaces were exclusively designed for just that: work. It was common for each use to be separated into its own room, making enclosed, rigid spaces the standard norm for architects to follow. That is, of course, until new living and working patterns blurred these boundaries to respond to contemporary trends.

Façade Solutions That Enhance Net Zero Architecture

Camila Prieto — Fri, 13 Oct 2023 06:45:00 +0000

Moving towards a sustainable future is a global challenge that involves all disciplines working together. According to the 2021 Global Status Report for Buildings and Construction, almost 40% of carbon emissions come from the construction industry. This places a heavy responsibility on the industry, which must be open to exploring innovative strategies, technologies, and materials in order to pave the road towards a universal sustainability goal: reaching carbon neutrality by no later than 2050.

Winners Announced for 18th International Saint-Gobain Architecture Student Contest

Rene Submissions — Wed, 05 Jul 2023 06:45:00 +0000

In the face of increasingly intensive planet-wide challenges, it is now clear that the construction sector must shift rapidly and comprehensively toward sustainable construction. The aim of this mobilization must be to drastically and permanently reduce construction-related greenhouse gas emissions, to preserve non-renewable natural resources, to reduce energy consumption, and to provide decent, comfortable housing for all.

Winners Announced for 13th Saint-Gobain International Gypsum Trophy

Rene Submissions — Fri, 05 May 2023 06:45:00 +0000

Every two years, starting in 1998, the Saint-Gobain International Gypsum Trophy has awarded the most recent developments for quality craftsmanship in drywall systems and plastering. This year, the 13th edition of the Gypsum Trophy took place in Athens on April 28th, 2023. From the Americas to Asia, from Europe to Africa, 73 projects from 27 countries competed in six categories to win one of the 15 prizes of the competition.

Towards Sustainable and Affordable Housing: Is 3D Printing the Future or the Present?

Valeria Montjoy — Wed, 25 May 2022 06:45:00 +0000

In recent years, the construction industry has faced unprecedented challenges. A lack of skilled workers is driving up costs of labor, there is a global housing shortage, and the effects of climate change around the world are clearer than ever. Therefore, questioning traditional construction methods and pushing the limits of innovation has become a top priority, forcing the industry to implement new technologies as they get on board the digital transformation era. There is one innovation, however, that looks particularly promising: 3D construction printing. Although relatively recent, the technology has already been successfully tested in numerous structures, houses and apartment buildings, reshaping residential construction as we know it. Hence, 3D printing could very well be a viable alternative for more efficient, sustainable and cost-effective mass housing solutions in the near future, positively impacting people’s lives and contributing to greener, healthier cities.

Winners of Saint-Gobain’s International Gypsum Trophy 2021

Eduardo Souza — Tue, 14 Dec 2021 01:30:00 +0000

Today, drywall and gypsum-based systems are currently present in almost all architectural works. These allow you to coat buildings with products that combine, among other attributes, construction ease, fire safety and the possibility of recycling, both in historic structures or completely new constructions. Since 1998, Saint-Gobain - one of the largest distributors of these types of systems - has awarded the projects that best apply them in their solutions, dividing them into 6 categories (Ceilings, Plaster, Plasterboard, Innovation & Sustainability, Residential, and Non-Residential). The submitted projects are meant to demonstrate how the architects managed to ingeniously unite the company's products with innovative solutions to overcome each of the difficulties that the works or contexts impose.

Multi Comfort: Meet the Winners of the 16th Edition of the Saint-Gobain International Student Contest

Rene Submissions — Fri, 02 Jul 2021 10:45:00 +0000

Saint-Gobain has announced the results for the 16th edition of its international Multi Comfort Student Contest. This year, the challenge was to convert the post-industrial area of the Coignet company in Saint-Denis (France) into a space for living, learning, and leisure in the heart of a large green space, respecting both the historical heritage and the needs of sustainable development of modern neighborhoods, in collaboration with the city of Saint-Denis.

Learn more about the top three winning projects below.

Basic Principles of Acoustics: Why Architects Shouldn’t Leave It All To Consultants

Lindsey Leardi — Mon, 03 May 2021 06:30:00 +0000

More than half the world’s population lives in dense urban areas. Uncomfortably loud restaurants, stores, hotels, or offices are enough to keep patrons away. When planning a meeting or even a night out with friends, we are conscious of selecting a location where we can focus and hear one another. The noisier our world gets, the more difficulty we have focusing on the sounds we actually want to hear.

Smart Facades: Buildings that Adapt to the Climate Through their Skin

Eduardo Souza — Thu, 26 Sep 2019 03:00:00 +0000

Facades are the interface between the interior and exterior of a building. They are the most striking and visible parts of a building, they protect it from external agents and are one of the main contributors to creating comfortable environments since it is where thermal gains and losses occur. Just like our skin, an extremely versatile organ of our body, it should be natural for it to be the part of the building which bears technology capable of becoming adaptable to the environmental conditions of the place where it is located.

How Can We Reduce Carbon Emissions in Architectural Projects?

Eduardo Souza — Thu, 18 Jul 2019 05:00:00 +0000

Since the 1970s, humanity’s resource consumption began to exceed what the planet could renew in a year. That is, we are withdrawing and polluting nature more than it can naturally recover. According to the World Bank, if the world's population reaches even the projected number of 9.6 billion people by 2050, it will take almost three Earth planets to provide the natural resources needed to maintain humanity's current lifestyle.

Learn How to Avoid Energy Loss in Your Buildings

Eduardo Souza — Mon, 24 Jun 2019 06:00:00 +0000

Thermal comfort becomes very evident when it is not attended to. When thermal conditions are adequate in one location, our body is in balance with the environment allowing us to perform activities normally. On the other hand, when a space is too hot or too cold, we soon see changes in our mood and body. Dissatisfaction with the thermal environment occurs when the heat balance is unstable, that is when there are differences between the heat produced by the body and the heat that the body loses to the environment.

ArchDaily's Sustainability Glossary : G-H-I

Dima Stouhi — Tue, 18 Jun 2019 06:00:00 +0000

It is expected that within the next few of decades, Earth will have absolutely nothing left to offer whoever/whatever is capable of surviving on it. Although the human race is solely responsible for the damages done to the planet, a thin silver lining can still be seen if radical changes were to be done to the way we live on Earth and how we sustain it.

Saint-Gobain Announces Winners of International Student Design Competition

Megan Schires — Sat, 15 Jun 2019 09:00:00 +0000

Competing in this year’s 15th annual Multi Comfort Student Contest, Saint-Gobain had over 2,200 students from 199 universities worldwide. The final was narrowed down to 60 competing teams from 34 countries, all of whom traveled to Milan to present their designs to an international panel of experts from the Municipality of Milan. This year’s brief was to design a project to rehabilitate and reconnect the urban area around Crescenzago subway station in Milan in line with the city’s #milano2030 development plan. The competition also focuses on Saint-Gobain’s concept of Multi Comfort: thermal, visual, and acoustic comfort, as well as good indoor air quality.

How to Design for Visual Comfort Using Natural Light

José Tomás Franco — Wed, 20 Mar 2019 04:00:00 +0000

Architects are increasingly aware of our influence on the well-being and good health of the users of our projects. Natural lighting –and how it should be complemented with artificial lighting– is an essential factor to consider for the visual comfort of interior spaces. But, do we know how to handle it correctly?

How to Design for Optimal Thermal Comfort (And Why it Matters)

Dima Stouhi — Thu, 31 Jan 2019 04:00:00 +0000

Have you ever found yourself losing a good night’s sleep due to an overly warm room? Or wearing four jackets and a scarf just to tolerate your office’s frigid air conditioning? Truth be told, you can’t please everyone when it comes to adjusting an indoor climate, and there is always that one unfortunate individual who ends up sacrificing their own comfort for the sake of others.

Broissin Arquitectos Reinterprets the Tree House in Glass

Mónica Arellano — Fri, 09 Nov 2018 05:00:00 +0000

Design House, which is held annually within the framework of Design Week Mexico, is celebrating its tenth anniversary. In this year's edition, 24 local designers and architects transformed an abandoned home, each restoring a room or outdoor area. One of these interventions, by Broissin Architects, reconstructed the outdoor patio into a micro-forest with the small, glass house placed on a centenary ash tree.