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Envisioned by the architectural pioneers at Woods Bagot, the Sculptform Design Studio was the recipient of the prestigious Best Small Workplace Award at the recent World Architecture Festival 2022. The space is an immersive tactile experience and has become a gathering space for the wider architecture industry. The design evokes the bespoke timber and aluminium products, craftsmanship and the custom detailing they are known for.

Sculptform and Woods Bagot set a new standard for the reciprocity that can exist between client and architect and showcases the limitless potential when a design team is truly immersed in materiality. Blurring the line between retail space and installation, it is a brilliant ‘working showroom’ case study for just how impactful design can be when local manufacturing and quality craftsmanship come together.

With a simple flick of a switch, lighting has the ability to completely transform a space, define its ambiance and create a mesmerizing, multi-sensory experience. It can cast shadows and highlights, add depth and texture, and even has the power to stir emotions and influence our well-being. More than just a practical source of illumination, it’s a tool for sculpting spaces and making a bold statement. Lighting fixtures come in various shapes, sizes and styles, each with a unique character and purpose; from the ornate elegance of a chandelier hanging from the ceiling to the sleek minimalism of a recessed light installed into a wall. The possibilities for creative expression are endless. Innovating and breaking the boundaries of traditional lighting design, Tom Dixon’s sculptural luminaires are a testament to these possibilities.

The world's oldest stained glass window (which is still standing) is conventionally believed to be in Augsburg Cathedral in the German state of Bavaria. Depicting the prophets David, Jonah, Daniel, Moses and Hosea, it is estimated to be nearly 1,000 years old, having undergone significant bombing during World War II. Long before that, however, mankind had been working with glass, and while today we have thin frames with crystalline sheets and a variety of properties, we had to come a long way to get here. In this article we will tell you a little about the evolution of glass windows and the technologies and possibilities that we have today.

The 2022 FIFA World Cup was unique as the first FIFA tournament held in the Middle East. In another first, the FIFA World Cup, historically held between June and July, was moved to November and December, in view of Qatar’s 40˚C+ climate during the summer months. Even during the cooler months, Qatar’s average temperature reaches 26˚C. Combining this with the heat emitted by tightly packed spectators would at times have made the experience uncomfortable. As a result, Qatar air-conditioned eight of the nine open-air football stadiums – a significant challenge which was overcome through innovative design, technology and architecture and by utilizing spot cooling; and a complex undertaking when it is also important to maintain sustainability credentials.

To effectively cool the stadiums, the most crucial challenge was to prevent or at least reduce the hot air from outside coming into the stadium, which was achieved through the stadiums’ design and architecture.

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The most recent season of ByDesign –a television series that explores design, featuring the designers who bring ideas to life– returns with its sights set on the architecture of the United States. America ByDesign: Architecture will feature six of the US’s most significant architectural accomplishments, competing toward a finale to determine the ultimate winning design. Past ByDesign seasons have focused on New York, California, and Australia—and now, the series will zoom in on the Windy City and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC).

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Most architects are looking to win more work; not just higher-paying projects but those that allow them to unleash their creativity and passion. These opportunities can be won or lost on a professional's ability to communicate their design vision — so the proposal has to be on point. These tips from leaders in the design field can help architects win bids and create their dream projects. 

“Color is life; for a world without color appears to us dead.” Distinguished painter Johannes Itten described with these words the exceptional power of color in our perception of the world. As a sensory event, color not only defines what we see, but also how we feel and think; it has been shown to alter productivity, inspire decision-making, shape our perspective, and influence our well-being. Especially in architecture, these effects materialize and reach their maximum splendor. Design is, after all, a visual form of communication, and color palettes –coupled with light, shadow, texture and sheen– play a critical role in conveying a building’s message. They create the ambiance that supports the function of a space, completely transforming user experience. Even the greats have recognized this power: “Polychromy is as powerful an architectural tool as the plan and section,” Le Corbusier once said.

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In a new series entitled "Opening Up", Dutch manufacturer of pivot door hinges FritsJurgens embarks on a series of video stories that explore the world’s most captivating pivot door projects. Every last Monday of the month, FritsJurgens releases a new episode in which architects, door manufacturers, and pivot door owners talk about their pivot door projects.

A new platform launched by 3D Agora is looking to revolutionize the architectural visualization industry by sweeping out all of its cluttered corners. Finding the most suitable 3D Artist for a project, exchanging large files of various kinds with them and keeping track of all versions, requests and changes are said to become much easier with 3D Agora's worldwide database, smart filtering system, feedback panel and the industry-specific project collaboration board.

Imagine walking into a hospital and being greeted by greenery, views, natural light streaming in through large windows and open spaces that promote calmness and serenity. These favorable conditions play a crucial role in shaping patients’ experience, making their days a little bit easier while promoting healing. In fact, good healthcare design has been shown to reduce patient stays, infection rates, medication and medical errors, as well as improve staff attraction and performance. A well-designed facility can ultimately transport patients from a sterile, clinical environment to one that is warm, inviting and even uplifting. Such is the case of the Crystal Clinic Orthopaedic Center by HGA Architects, which has been selected among the five winners of the 2022 Shaw Contract Design Awards “Best of Globe” for its innovative approach to healthcare.

Some professionals have struggled with using Revit for developing interior projects from start to finish, partly due to the scarcity of modern 3D objects to meet the needs of an architecture project in BIM. As a result, the search for quality objects for Revit required time, patience and a lot of creativity.

Realizing this need among professionals, Blocks developed a free plug-in for Revit, which has a library of furniture, lighting and decor. Every week, users have access to new editable families, with the biggest trends in the architecture and interiors market.

Focused on bringing spaces back to life, Avalon Collective takes a pre-existing building and transforms it into a contemporary hotel that relates to the locality and origin of Orchard Road, while capturing its modern retail context. Through a consistent design language and spirit that incorporates history and regeneration, the new Hilton Singapore Orchard has been selected among the five winners of the 2022 Best of Globe Winner.

Historically home to vikings, kings and queens, Copenhagen is a vibrant city that mingles contemporary architecture with traditional waterways, narrow cobblestone streets, old timbered houses and ancient castles. Filled with history, its buildings embody a historic legacy that traces the memory of all the characters, epoques and events in which the city has passed through. How to keep all this history alive? By refurbishing traditional buildings within modern design, Copenhagen respectfully enjoys its historical architecture while adapting to current trends.

Taking a moment to envisage the existing built environment before addressing a clean slate, refurbishment allows architects to repurpose existing structures for a new use, preserving its character and history while reducing the environmental impact of new constructions. Through the most outstanding cases of rehabilitation of classic buildings in the city, the following article analyzes three different strategies for reusing historic buildings through innovative and sustainable design.

A metal façade introduces a visually appealing architectural element on top of a built insulation system, such as a vapor barrier, insulation board, and structural supports. Known for their versatility, durability and elegant, clean finishes, metal claddings can be used for both roofing and walls to deliver a long-lasting and eye-catching finished product made from natural materials such as aluminum, copper, zinc and steel. Regardless of which system is used to fix the panels (concealed clip system or exposed fastener system), a façade can be made from a variety of profiles and colors for unlimited design options.

From 114 participating countries, the World Design Rankings (WDR) have once again ranked the best in arts, architecture and design, sponsored by the A' Design Award and Competition. With the objective of contributing to global design culture through advocating and highlighting good design, the rankings provide additional data and insights to economists and journalists regarding the design industry.

There are many challenges when working with renovations: adapting spaces that were not necessarily designed for a particular program, adding new uses for rooms and modernizing the building in order to make it compatible with contemporary demands. This was the case of Mobio Arquitetura's project for the headquarters of a solar energy fintech company, which sought to value the memory of the historic building while adding a new layer of contemporary and technological infrastructure designed for the comfort, usability and productive coexistence of the new occupants. The office has been selected among the five winners of the 2022 Shaw Contract Design Awards "Best of Globe".

Sustainable cities demand sustainable solutions, which imply the development of a new mindset for the reformulation of conventional creation processes. Within the fight against climate change, the circular economy concept is known as a key factor for the sustainable solutions of the future. Part of this concept is known as circular design, which aims to transform the traditional paradigm of ‘using and throwing away’ into a commitment to reusing existing materials.

Circular design rethinks the creation process of products from the first steps, guiding architects and designers to create products that can be reused, recycled or transformed. Applying circularity in architecture opens the debate of rethinking the life cycle of construction materials. In this manner, fiber cement cladding –a combination of basic earth elements, mineral materials, water, air and fire, in a simple filtration process– proposes a design solution that meets the basic principles of circular construction. In addition to its composition, strength and durability, these products are designed as a system that can outlast a building's lifecycle.

When we google 'housing in Copenhagen', the first thing that pops up are the most common questions asked by users: how much does it cost to live in Copenhagen? Is it difficult to find housing in Copenhagen? It's true, living here is significantly more expensive than the European average, especially in its most central district: Indre By. Although the housing prices are adapted to the salaries of its citizens –and the quality of life index is consistent with this high cost–, it's still complex for a foreigner to settle permanently in the city.

However, there is a serious commitment from the authorities and stakeholders to kindly open the city to new inhabitants, offering affordable housing designed by its best architects –both in suburbs and in refurbished downtown areas. In 2023, Copenhagen will be the UNESCO-UIA World Capital of Architecture and the host of the UIA World Congress of Architects, so a large number of people will be able to see firsthand what it's like to inhabit the city in projects of great architectural quality, which not only integrate wisely into its vibrant urban life, but also propose innovative ways of living.