Data centers, automated assembly lines, telecommunications facilities, and warehouses represent a very utilitarian aspect of the built environment, and yet they compose a particular kind of infrastructure within contemporary society, one that is fundamental to the development of everyday life. Rarely discussed within the profession, these new typologies have more recently penetrated the architectural discourse, raising questions about the architectural significance and design potential of the spaces sustaining the mechanics of today's world.

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Although there is much conflict surrounding the term Brutalist, there are certain constants and patterns within the movement that offer a concrete idea of the movement and its place in contemporary architecture.

The buildings that adhere to Brutalism—an off-shoot of the Modern Movement that erupted between 1950 and 1970— stand out in part to their constructional sincerity- that is, keeping no secrets about the materials that went into their creation, their bold geometry, and the asperity of their textures and surfaces. Reinforced concrete is the predominant material in Brutalist works thanks to its prominent and dramatic texture, which is put on full display.

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When building near the sea, a project’s design strategy must pay special attention to the effects of marine corrosion. The salt content in the environment provokes a chemical and physical process which incites a material breakdown or degradation, compromising the durability of the building’s infrastructure. 

As a response to the demands for ocean-side buildings, and the corresponding façade components that go along with them, air-lux has developed a system that aims to perform reliably in maritime conditions. By virtue of its corrosion-resistant materials, improved surface coatings, and technically optimized components, the system withstands marine climates and minimizes salt water damage.

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has announced the Hackney School of Food, designed by Surman Weston, as the winner of the Stephen Lawrence Prize 2022. The award aims to encourage new architectural talent and to reward projects with a budget of less than £1 million. RIBA has also awarded the Neave Brown Award for Housing 2022 to the Hackney New Primary School and 333 Kingsland Road by Henley Halebrown. The award is given in honor of social housing pioneer Neave Brown (1926-2018) and it recognizes affordable housing initiatives in the UK.

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Urban Agency, in partnership with COBE, won in 2019 a competition to transform a former steel factory into an 850,000 square meters car-free mixed-use district. The industrial site is planned to become a mixed-use district, with housing for over 8,000 new residents, office spaces, schools, workshop spaces, and 268,000 square meters of landscape, including a reactivated river area. The master plan strategies focus on urban nature, renaturalization, preservation and reuse, car-free streets, and an adapted dense mix of buildings and functions.

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Designed by Níall McLaughlin Architects, the Magdalene College Library was just selected as the winner of the 26th edition of the RIBA Stirling Prize. Selected from a pool of shortlisted projects, the outstanding new building replaces a library gifted to Magdalene by Samuel Pepys 300 years ago and provides the students of the University of Cambridge with a new space that includes an archive and an art gallery.

This article was originally published on Common Edge.

Writer Eva Hagberg and I have known each other for a long time. Way back, in a year I can’t remember, I assigned her one of her first magazine assignments. Literally, dozens of other assignments followed. So it was with some anticipation, and a bit of surprise, that I received her new book When Eero Met His Match: Aline Louchheim Saarinen and the Making of an Architect (Princeton University Press), an intriguing hybrid text, one-part Aline and Eero biography, one part memoir of Hagberg’s experiences as a design writer and publicist. (I am briefly mentioned in the book.) The book’s main argument is that Aline Saarinen largely invented the role of the architectural publicist. Recently I traveled out to the Brooklyn Navy Yard to talk to a very pregnant Eva about the impetus for her new book, its dual structure, and the journalistic ethics of Aline Saarinen.

From the first traces of a sketch to the ribbon cutting at the official inauguration, a building and its construction process goes through numerous steps. From understanding client demands, complying to local regulations, staying within budget, getting the necessary approvals for development and construction details, a lot of time, resources and decisions are involved. To this end, it is essential to have a workforce that knows and understands the correct processes inside-out, are well informed and have experience and availability. Finding and training this workforce isn't always easy though, and this is where Aligned Studios comes in: a service that creates and manages teams composed of qualified designers for US architectural and construction companies.

BDP Quadrangle has revealed the design of a 54-storey, mixed-use tower in downtown Toronto, Canada. The project will replace an existing 10-storey office tower built in the 1960s. The new tower will contain office and residential units, with amenities and outdoor terraces on the 11^th floor and at the ground floor. The building is planned to accommodate a total of 278 apartments with penthouses on the 52^nd and 53^rd floors. The project is currently in the pre-construction phase.

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The construction of the new building of Palmer Museum has begun. Located at Penn State, USA, and scheduled to open in the spring of 2024, the new 6600 square meters complex will expand nearly double the space of the current gallery to host the growing collection of more than 10,000 pieces. The design features a series of pavilions, educational areas, and courtyards to boost accessibility to the art collections for students, staff, and the public. The construction aligns with the 50th anniversary of the museum along with a multitude of events, including the exhibition of Allied Works' pieces of the design process for the new Palmer Museum.

Although we usually think of climate change as something that should be addressed by research institutes, governments or official reports, private companies also play a key role in affecting change, as they are on the front lines of production and innovation. This is especially true in the field of construction, as it is an industry that moves a significant amount of resources and people, but also exerts a huge impact on the environment. Unfortunately, not all companies take on this challenge, although this is slowly changing and can be seen in a number of successful examples. One of these is the case of Rieder, which embarked on a journey to become “Climate Positive” by 2030 and, more notably, set the example when building its new headquarters.

Büro Ole Scheeren has designed a new campus and experience center located in the historical city of Yibin, a region known for its rich cultural heritage and the geographical source of the Yangtze River. The campus was commissioned by Wuliangye, one of China’s leading winemakers. The project represents a large development inspired by the shape of a natural canyon, with two dynamic parallel structures defining a central space. On either side of this structure, called the Wuliang Interstice, are the Wuliangye World and the Wine Culture Exhibition Center respectively. Wuliangye World is an experience center where visitors can engage with the tradition of winemaking, while the exhibition center tells the story of wine culture through a series of themed exhibition halls.

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Foster + Partners has revealed the designs of the Marine Life Institute on Saudi Arabia's northwestern coast. As part of Triple Bay development AMAALA, a luxury tourist destination on the Red Sea coastline, the project will accommodate a research center, labs, galleries, and educational spaces to give visitors a glimpse into the wonders of the marine environment of the coastline. Reproducing the forms of coral formations, the building will be the world's first fully immersive marine institution where visitors can walk underwater, snorkel with rare species and experience a coral exhibit inside the building.

The Global Challenge is an annual competition organized by A--D that recognizes the most sustainable architectural projects around the world, and helps accelerate their development.

Much more than a merely utilitarian and functional space, the bathroom can be a relaxing place of privacy, solitude and self-care. It can be approached as an oasis of tranquility within one's home, a space to create bold combinations and highlight originality, or even as a room to surprise visitors and escape the usual designs, with different textures, colors and accessories. To achieve the desired effect of each project, specifying the most appropriate parts for each bathroom accessory is essential, which includes toilets, storage devices, walls and fittings such as taps and showers.

Fundació Mies van der Rohe has announced that a research project focused on Anna Bofill Levi has been awarded the third Lilly Reich Grant for Equality in Architecture. The project, titled “La arquitectura como contracanto: 1977-1996”, was initiated by architects Ma Elia Gutiérrez Mozo, José Parra Martínez, Ana Gilsanz Díaz, and Joaquín Arnau Amo. The research contextualizes the architectural works of pianist, architect, and composer Anna Bofill Levi and brings into focus the result of her multidisciplinary approach, intertwining practices and research in design, architecture and music.

Brink Tower by Mecanoo was just granted planning permission and construction works are planned for mid-October 2022. Located in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, the 90-meter-high building, developed by Xior Student Housing and DubbeLL – winners of the competition for this tower together with Mecanoo Architecten in 2020- will offer a mixed program, including spaces to live, work, and relax in a healthy environment. The residential tower is set to create an" energy-positive, green, and inclusive neighborhood" and contribute to the development of Overhoeks in North Amsterdam.

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Catalonia's National Theatre, known by the abbreviation TNC, is a public theatre located in the Plaça de les Arts, near Plaça de Glòries, in Barcelona. It is one of the city's most prestigious buildings and one of the most important cultural institutions in Catalonia.

As the post-pandemic generation of the workplace takes shape, office comfort is fast becoming its main selling point. But that can’t just mean big, comfy ‘working’ sofas and a few scatter cushions. With the hybrid options of home, office, or third space on the table, the majority of employees still choose to spend a large proportion of their working time together, benefitting from the community feeling and creative atmosphere, but most of all the professional working environment and interior. So while comfortably cozy spaces help them feel at home, the traditional set-up with individual desks and chairs for quiet focus, can’t be underestimated

With rising rental rates and major firms already in the process of downsizing to survive the digital work era, only flexibly and adaptably designed workplaces can provide both comfortable and focused typologies.

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If you're looking to take your SketchUp skills to the next level, learning how to render animations can be a great way to showcase your designs. In this tutorial, I’ll show you how to create a professional animation using SketchUp and the photorealistic rendering plugin V-Ray. Our first step will be to create a simple camera animation and then animate the sunlight changing throughout the day. After that, we'll animate the clouds to make a time-lapse sky and learn how to share our final rendered clips with others.

A new urban tech district is planned for the Creekside of Al Jaddaf area in Dubai. Developed by URB, the district aims to generate over four thousand jobs in urban technologies, education, and training, while also welcoming entrepreneurs to encourage a collaborative tech ecosystem. The district will provide facilities for training, research, conferences, business incubations, shared-desk spaces, and dedicated offices. It will also be home to an urban tech institute, which hopes to drive innovation by investing in applied research and by enabling public-private partnerships.

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The third tallest building in Berlin, a 142 meters high-rise by Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), is expected to be completed by 2023. Located close to the Warschauer station and the Mercedes-Benz Arena, The EDGE East Side will be a vertical hub of 65,000 square meters that connects two of Berlin's most vibrant and artistic suburbs: Friedrichshain and Kreuzberg.

Blending contemporary urban requirements and natural elements, the structure will feature 360 views of East Berlin and 36 floors of shared and dedicated workplaces. Some building sections will serve organizations or individuals focusing primarily on sustainability, education, or social issues. The tower will also host Amazon's offices, with room for up to 3400 employees.