Sustainability and comfort are top priorities in any new build or renovation project these days. Green construction means taking measures to reduce emissions and achieve a high degree of energy efficiency, both during construction and in terms of subsequent building use. And well-being is a key factor in any type of building, whether a home, a hotel or an office complex; after all, the right conditions have a beneficial effect on people’s health and productivity. 

One way to integrate these aspects into daily life is by using radiant cooling during summer, as it can beexceptionally energy-efficient and can ensure pleasantly comfortable temperatures.

Heatherwick Studio is taking part of this year’s Royal Academy Summer Exhibition with two retrofit projects in the United Kingdom: Broad Marsh in Nottingham and Parnham Park in Dorset. Titled "Ruins Reimagined", the exhibition presents two different approaches to reusing existing architecture, from a Grade I-listed 16^th century house to a partially demolished 1970’s shopping center, each offering a unique response in scale and heritage to the Summer Exhibition’s theme of ‘climate’. The models are on display in the Architecture Room until 21st August. This year, the Architecture Room is curated by Niall McLaughlin RA and Rana Begum RA, and will sit across two spaces, mixing art and architecture together.

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Australian architecture firm Conrad Gargett has won an international competition to design the Misk Foundation Headquarters in Saudi Arabia. Mohammed bin Salman Foundation, “Misk”, announced the competition for the new headquarters, which will be located in the Prince Mohammed Bin Salman "Nonprofit City" within the Irqah neighborhood in the capital of Riyadh. The new city, spreading over 3.4 square kilometers, and launched in November 2021, seeks to empower youth and support innovation and entrepreneurship, and become a model for the development of the non-profit sector globally and an incubator for youth and volunteer groups as well as local and international non-profit institutions. One of the declared goals of the City and Misk is to transition from an oil-based economy to a knowledge-based economy.

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Nature is often used as an inspirational source for architecture. Whether from its shapes, the extraction and use of its materials, or even the incorporation of physical and chemical processes in the technologies used, it is always relevant to look for relations between the built environment and the natural environment. Of the many ecosystems present on planet Earth, the oceans represent most of the surface and hold stories, mystiques, symbols and shapes that can be referenced in architecture.

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Architecture has long been a profession in aesthetic apartheid. The profession’s favored aesthetic, Modernism, has relegated all other “styles” to marginalized insignificance in laud, teaching and publication. The last generation has seen those following an aesthetic deemed “traditional” create an entirely separate system of schools, awards and publication.

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In a way, classic furniture is like a mixture between a work of art and a gold bar: it is a safe investment and can often even increase in value with age. In our second selection of design icons from the 20th century, we present Ray and Charles Eames, Marcel Breuer, Arne Jacobsen and Mario Bellini and some furniture pieces from the past century that remain more modern today than ever, in terms of not only design but also comfort. Find out more on the Architonic Platform.

“Architecture does not change anything. It’s always on the side of the wealthy.” With these words, Oscar Niemeyer referred to architecture as being a privilege mostly destined to the upper class – a statement that has historically proven to be true, even as some would like to deny it. Today, only 2% of all houses around the world are designed by architects. This is largely due to the fact that, to the average consumer, architect-designed homes continue to be perceived as expensive and esoteric products available only to this select few; a luxury that many cannot fathom to afford, especially as housing prices rise. Ultimately, this makes good design inaccessible for certain segments, forcing them to settle for precarious living conditions in standardized spaces that fail to take their needs into account (that is, if they even have access to housing).

Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) has been named as the winner of an international competition to design the Jinghe New City Culture & Art Centre in the Shaanxi province, China. The project is part of the Jinghe New City, an area growing as a science and technology hub with new scientific research institutes that are driven by environmental awareness. The architecture blends with the surrounding landscape, echoing the valleys carved by the Jinghe River through the mountains and landscapes of Shaanxi province.

The American Institute of Architects has elected Kimberly Dowdell as the 100th president of the organization, making her the first Black woman to hold the position in AIA’s 165-year history. Delegates at the AIA’s annual meeting voted Dowdell to serve first as vice president for 2023. Afterward, she will become president in 2024.

During her campaign for president, Dowdell has expressed her support for minorities, while also making clear that she wants to be an AIA president for all. Her platform is based on four key areas of interest: supporting architects in practice, creating a sense of belonging and ensuring access to the architectural profession and education, addressing climate concerns, and designing for the future, considering rapid technological advances. “I firmly believe that the AIA has the power and potential to better serve our profession” she declared in a video made prior to the election.

According to the Spanish Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda, the draft Law on the Quality of Architecture was finally approved on the 8th of June, after achieving the backing of a large majority, without any votes against, of the Senate Plenary, thus ending its parliamentary processing with a large consensus.

KME Germany has announced the 2022 TECU® ARCHITECTURE AWARD winners for the sixth time. The competition intends to enable, accompany and promote modern and forward-looking approaches to architecture based on copper as a material, in collaboration with architects.

In addition to three architecture prizes, two project prizes for students were also awarded. Furthermore, three Special Mentions were awarded.

Architecture is a privileged tool for brands that are characterized by a high-end positioning and that, beyond the quality of their own products, needs to feed an imaginary of prestige, style, and refinement. From the showrooms to the stores, fashion needs architects as much as stylists, photographers and modelers.

MVRDV and The Why Factory's have collaborated on an exhibition that explores the principles of "architecture and urbanism calls to action”. Titled "Agir", the exhibition is open to the public since June 9th, in the connected spaces of the ArchiLib Gallery and MVRDV’s Paris office. The exhibition takes its name from the French verb meaning “act”, and examines the activist works of MVRDV and The Why Factory, revealing its capacity to address a wide variety of environmental and social challenges.

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Grimshaw has revealed the final design for City Rail Link, or CRL in short, a large infrastructure project in Auckland, New Zealand. The project includes four new train stations and a 3.45km twin-tunnel underground rail up to 42 meters below the city center. It was developed in collaboration with WSP as part of the Link Alliance, a consortium of seven companies tasked with delivering the main stations and tunnels for the CRL project. The design of the stations is also developed in partnership with Mana Whenua, a local tribal authority that aims to integrate the narrative of the Māori creation story, Te Ao Marama, into the design. Each station's image and identity are a result of this collaboration, and it responds to the characteristics of each location as defined by Tāmaki Makaurau, the Māori name for the geographical region of the city of Auckland.

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"in downtown New Delhi, huge curved structures sink in the ground, taking the form of a ramp. Amorphous voids mark the great twisted walls. The color red marks the structures and sets them apart from everything else."

This could describe a playground or even a skate park, but it is one of five astronomical observatories built in India between 1724 and 1738. These mazy volumes, which look more like a materialization of Escher's drawings, were conceived by the Indian prince Jai Singh as part of an ambitious project that sought to put architecture at the service of science. Their shapes make complex astronomical analysis possible, such as predicting eclipses, tracking the location of stars, and determining Earth's exact orbit around the Sun.

When we consider something edible, we understand its capacity to be eaten, consumed, or ingested independently of its taste. If our contemporary relationship to the built environment reflected this process, what would cities and constructed environments become?

There are many myths and misunderstandings around sustainability in construction. First, the belief that what is sustainable must inherently be technological, complicated or out of reach. Or that the products will necessarily be more expensive, will be made of recycled materials or will not be so aesthetically pleasing. When it comes to material specification, there is often confusion. Is steel more sustainable than bamboo? Would it be better to use a material that is said to be sustainable, but which goes through numerous industrial processes, or one with a low level of processing? The answer is not so simple, and there are various comparison mechanisms to help guide us. But this is an important consideration to make, as one of the main ways the construction industry can help reduce its carbon footprint is to select materials with the lowest general contribution to emissions and environmental impact. Natural slate, which can be used for roofing and facades, is a great example of this. 

Videos

The Second Studio (formerly The Midnight Charette) is an explicit podcast about design, architecture, and the everyday. Hosted by Architects David Lee and Marina Bourderonnet, it features different creative professionals in unscripted conversations that allow for thoughtful takes and personal discussions.

A variety of subjects are covered with honesty and humor: some episodes are interviews, while others are tips for fellow designers, reviews of buildings and other projects, or casual explorations of everyday life and design. The Second Studio is also available on iTunes, Spotify, and YouTube.

This week David and Marina are joined by interior architect and designer Jaime Bush, Principal and Founder of Jamie Bush + CO. to discuss growing up with designers, photographers, and artists; studying Architecture abroad in Venice; transitioning into Interior Architecture; the disconnect between Architects and Interior Designers; how to differentiate between Interior Design and Architecture; fee structures; and more.