Oppenheim Architecture has unveiled the design for the College of Europe's new campus in Tirana, Albania. This project introduces the first "purpose-built" campus for the College, following its established campuses in Bruges, Belgium, and Natolin, Poland. The College of Europe, created under the initiative of the Hague Congress, is dedicated to promoting European ideals of unity, cooperation, and integration. This expansion to Tirana aims to reflect both a continuation of this mission and an opportunity for the College to establish a presence in a historically significant city.
Architecture firm SO – IL has revealed plans for a new residential condominium project planned for Brooklyn's Fort Greene neighborhood. Named 144 Vanderbilt, the development offers 26 condominiums and amenities spanning almost 90,000 square feet. According to SO – IL, the architecture takes cues from Brooklyn's historical heritage, while incorporating a modern twist, as the staggered building prioritizes community interactions and comfortable urban living.
Selected as one of ArchDaily's Best New Practices 2024, Estudio Rare defines itself as an interdisciplinary experimental space. Based in Córdoba, Argentina, its three founding partners, Agustín Willnecker, Iván Ferrero, and Mateo Unamuno, met while studying at the Faculty of Architecture of the National University of Córdoba. With a young but notable trajectory, the Rare team offers a free and dynamic perspective on design, architecture, and construction. Their works, regardless of scale or commission, demonstrate a close relationship with art, reflecting the diverse interests and personal backgrounds of each team member and their collaborators.
As a landmark of contemporary religious architecture in Portugal, the Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus stands in contrast to traditional models, representing a work free from historicist stigmas. Resulting from a design competition organized in 1960, the church is notable for its civic dimension, urban role, and its anti-monumental and social significance. Integrated into the regular grid of the Avenidas Novas neighborhood, this example of the Movement for the Renewal of Sacred Art is part of a larger parish complex that often goes unnoticed by passersby. Its external street creates an unexpected public space, inviting people to enter and engage in a courtyard where architecture and the city merge. Finely crafted in terms of spatiality, detail, and light, the church holds many surprises for those who venture inside.
In Beirut, a city marked by transformation, the Interdesign Building echoes the vision of an architect steadfast in his conviction. Designed by Lebanese architect Khalil Khouri in 1973 during a period of economic growth, the building took 23 years to build, a process halted by the onset of the Lebanese Civil War. By the time it was completed in 1996, the urban landscape that surrounded it had changed. The structure has stood largely unused since, as a relic of hopeful modernity. While its design is singular in its narrative and expression, this structure illustrates the tension between aspiration and struggle throughout its complex history.
The Massachusetts administration, under Governor Maura Healey, has unveiled a new housing-centric proposal for the controversial Boston Government Service Center designed by Paul Rudolph and opened in 1971. Previously proposed to be redeveloped by the architecture office NBBJ with offices and commercial spaces, the updated vision aims to transform the Erich Lindemann and Charles F. Hurley buildings into housing facilities as part of the state’s goal to address the housing crisis while allowing for the historic preservation of the Brutalist structure.
Refurbishment is an increasingly common and fundamental practice in contemporary architecture. More than a trend, it represents a crucial strategy for reducing resource consumption and minimizing waste generation, providing clear advantages over brand-new constructions. In the Latin American context, this philosophy stands out for its unique characteristics. It intricately weaves circularity and climate action with local materials, addressing economic challenges while harmonizing Indigenous, colonial, and contemporary influences.
Housing plays a crucial role in this context, where traditional materials and construction techniques define each project's distinctiveness and integrate it into the community's social fabric. Throughout Latin America, regional identities are deeply embedded in refurbishment efforts, ranging from restoring facades and repurposing wood to reimagining the use of demolition waste. The adaptation of spaces in these projects is influenced by their unique identities and geographic conditions, rooted in social and cultural expressions.
https://www.archdaily.com/1019030/housing-refurbishment-in-latin-america-10-projects-that-excel-in-the-use-of-materialsEnrique Tovar
Around 1949, the city of Buenos Aires led the construction of the Sixth Pantheon in the Chacarita neighborhood. Monumental in character and brutalist in style, this underground necropolis turned out to be the first and largest experiment in modern architecture in the funerary field. Designed by Ítala Fulvia Villa, one of the first Argentine women architects and urban planners, and a pioneer of South American modernism, along with her team comprised of Leila Cornell, Raquel S. de Días, Gunter Ernest, Carlos A. Gabutti, Ludovico Koppman, and Clorindo Testa, this work was discovered by Léa Namer, who conducted an in-depth investigation reflecting on the legacy of a modern utopia and a feminist rereading of history.
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.
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.
One of the main loads that a structure must support is its own weight, so it's essential to know this information so that the different parts of the building can be dimensioned. When starting a structural project, the engineer doesn't yet know the dimensions of the different pieces that make up the structure, and therefore, can't know their own weight. A paradox appears without a solution: to know the weight it's necessary to know the dimensions, but, to know the dimensions, it's necessary to know the weight.
During the development of the project the architect finds himself in the curious situation of having to design without necessarily knowing the size of each of the parts of the building (such as the size of the pillars, for example). These important elements directly affect functionality and aesthetics of the project.
https://www.archdaily.com/891880/learn-to-pre-dimension-a-reinforced-concrete-structureJoão Carlos Souza
Vista de la entrada principal. Image Cortesía de Weberhofer, W. (1970). Edificio PetroPerú. [Fotografías]. Archivo de la familia Weberhofer, Lima. Visitado el 3 de octubre de 2014
The Petroperú building, jointly designed by architects Walter Weberhofer and Daniel Arana Ríos, was the result of a state competition held by the military government of Velasco Alvarado in the early 1970s. The building, strategically located in the capital of Peru, within the prosperous district of San Isidro, was designed to house the recently created state company in charge of the whole petroleum process of the country (Petroperú S.A.). The monumental building, built and inaugurated in 1973, became the symbol of the newly installed regime.
Cactus Towers (Kaktustårnene), Copenhague. Image Cortesía de Sigfox España
Control of concrete strength and maturity in large-scale projects has traditionally been recorded and measured manually. Nowadays, there are new technologies that allow builders to melt sensors directly into the concrete, which –connected to a transmitter– show continuous data on the material's temperatures, sending this data wirelessly to the cloud platform. The software then automatically calculates maturity and strength based on historical data, so the concrete mix and strength development process can be followed from any device and in real-time.
These sensors, based on 0G technology from Sigfox –one of the main IoT (Internet of Things) operators worldwide– have facilitated the construction of one of the most innovative architectural projects in Europe, the Cactus Towers (Kaktustårnene) in Copenhagen, helping calculate the exact moment to remove the formwork that shapes its characteristic façade.
It's no secret that concrete has one of the highest CO2 emissions of all building materials, making it a focal point for architects looking to innovate and experiment with it as a way to optimize its production and application in construction while decreasing its environmental impact. This exploration of elements such as concrete's thermal inertia, which could serve to make buildings more energy efficient, as well as its durability, which guarantees a long-lasting, zero- maintenance structure even in the most extreme of climates. The ultimate goal is to create luminous living spaces with natural ventilation while simultaneously exploring the possibility of reusing frameworks as a way of cutting costs and streamlining the building process.
Concrete, a material commonly used in the construction industry, is made of a binder combined with aggregates (or gravels), water, and certain additives. Its origins reach back as far as Ancient Egypt, when the construction of large structures created the need for a new kind of material: one which was liquid, featured properties of natural stones, could be molded, and communicated a sense of nobility and grandeur.
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