Pakistani architecture is defined by multiplicity. Both following tradition and breaking from it, contemporary projects contend with multiple histories. Informed by the coexistence and juxtaposition of conditions like regulated development and informal settlements in Karachi and Islamabad, modern designs are being shaped by broader contexts. In turn, these public and private projects are exploring new spaces and forms.

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MAD Architects has announced "The Star", a new landmark that will foster culture, creativity, and inspiration in Los Angeles, California. Nestled in the heart of Hollywood, the Star's reflective architecture nods the neighborhood's glamorous characteristics and embeds nature within its structure with natural lighting, greenery, and workplaces that cater to the employees' mental and physical wellbeing.

The fourth edition of the Chicago Architecture Biennial opened to the public on September 17th, showcasing a series of 15 site-specific interventions within the urban environment that tap into ideas of shared space and collective agency, exploring “who gets to participate in the design of the city”. Led by Artistic Director David Brown, this year’s edition operating under the theme The Available City, intends to highlight the potential of vacant urban areas as collective spaces through interventions developed in close collaboration with the local community. At the same time, the event underscores the potential for “immediate new possibilities” and illustrates the significant impact of small urban gestures.

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Commerce has seen many changes over the past few years, especially as people worldwide have found new ways to connect and work with one another. In spite of this rapid progress, traditional commerce and cultures remain strong in Mexico City's tianguis, derived from the Nahuatl word tianquiz(tli) for “market." These open air spaces have operated since before European invasion and colonization, when bartering was the primary means of commerce and transactions were done in large public areas like plazas and corridors. Eventually, products derived from copper and cacao became a form of currency with which to purchase basic necessities.

Less than two months ago, the future of an 1894 Dutch Colonial-style home designed by Frank Lloyd Wright wasn’t looking all that bright after it hit the market for $1.3 million in the Chicago suburb of Hinsdale, Illinois. As of this week, however, the historic Frederick Bagley House, described by the nonprofit Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy as a “unique and irreplaceable” early work of Wright, has found a very happy ending—or, more aptly, a new beginning.

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Boats offer delightful distractions for a surprisingly large number of architects. So many in fact, that there seems to be something about boats that appeals specifically to those trained in architecture.

Façade is one of the most important factors in certain building types, that can completely transform the occupant experience and the energy performance of the building. The Whole Building Design Guide showcases that the facade can have up to 40% impact on the total energy use of the building. In addition to the energy use, the facades also significantly impact the occupant productivity withing a building and, of course, the appearance of the building. There are many factors that go into creating a high-performance façade. In this article, we outline the top 5 things a design team should consider.

Stefano Boeri Architetti combined the concept of "Vertical Forest" and "Farm of agricultural industry" in its newly-unveiled urban vertical farm titled "Urban Vertical Farm of Brightfood". The project explored a new way of urban production in metropolitan areas by combining greenery, food production, and visual aesthetics in a 110,000 square-meter structure. In addition to its ecological features, the new urban agricultural complex offers commercial and office spaces in the vibrant city of Shanghai.

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London’s Design District, the new purpose-built creative hub at the heart of the Greenwich Peninsula, opened its doors to the public and is set on becoming a prominent destination for the city’s creative community. Comprising 16 buildings designed by a collective of eight renowned architectural studios and with landscaping by Schulze+Grassov, the project aims to gather startups, artists and entrepreneurs across many industries, generating a vibrant new neighbourhood.

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One of the most advanced civilizations in Latin America, the Quilmes people inhabited what is today known as the Santa Maria Valley in the northwestern sector of the Tucumán province, in the center of the Calchaquíes Valleys. Their city contains remnants of village life from centuries ago, giving a clear view of life in the village from generations past, including the economy, religious sites, public and private spaces, and interactions with other civilizations. At its height, the Quilmes' city had 450,000 inhabitants prior to the Spanish invasion.

These settlements, built in the Calchaquíes Valleys since approximately the 10th century, are considered to be Argentina's first pre-Hispanic cities. Even though little remains of these cities, their ruins highlight a complex history of a material and spiritual culture ripe with social and economic advancements. 

This article was originally published on Common Edge.

In the evolving campaign to combat climate change, big and bold solutions are increasingly easy to find, from the conceptual “water smart city” and ecologist Allan Savory’s vision for greening the world’s deserts to NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio’s plan to turn part of Governors Island into a “living laboratory” for climate research. Oyster reef restoration is occurring at nearly every critical junction along the eastern seaboard, from Florida to Maine. These are worthy efforts, and yet, when considered collectively, the onus for solving our climate crisis is being left largely to municipal governments and private actors, making most solutions piecemeal, at best. The success of one approach has little to no correlation with that of another. But what happens when all related solutions can be applied within a single, controlled ecosystem when environmentalism and urbanism are not at odds, but working in concert? Enter the experimental city.

As our cities densify and building types become more and more mixed-use, we tend to spend a lot of time in noisy environments. When we think about acoustic comfort, we rarely think of places like restaurants, venues, and big offices; places with a lot of people, machinery, and background noise. The quality of sound can entirely change the experience of people in an interior space, and improving the space's acoustic quality relies on treating all surfaces, from walls to ceilings, and flooring. In this article, we will present a variety of solutions for ceilings, flooring, and walls, their different combinations, and a simple guide of how to apply them correctly in public spaces without compromising the aesthetic of the interior.

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) has revealed the six shortlisted buildings contending for this year's RIBA Stirling Prize. Celebrating its 25th year, the award is given to the United Kingdom's best new building. The selected buildings demonstrate "the innovation and ambition that lies at the heart of exceptional architecture", varying from a city mosque in Cambridge to a remote bridge in Cornwall and a vibrant gathering space in Kingston.

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The Chicago Architecture Center and the Chicago Architectural Club have announced the three winning designs for the 2021 Chicago Prize Competition, which called for innovative adaptive reuse proposals that would grant a new life to the iconic Illinois Thompson Center. The winning proposals designed by Perkins&Will, Eastman Lee Architects, and Solomon Cordwell Buenz represent alternative visions for the future of the Postmodernist landmark.

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Since before the first industrial revolution, sociologists, historians, and urban planners have been addressing the relationship between the city and the countryside, but this debate has become more pressing nowadays with the spread of megacities, typically with a population of more than 10 million people. With more and more people living in urban areas, it is imperative to think of solutions for food production within cities, thereby making cities more independent from rural areas, which have historically been responsible for the supply of food to the entire planet.

The idea that cities will become self-sufficient in food production in the near future is both unrealistic and naive. Nevertheless, small initiatives such as urban gardens, either at home or public gardens run by the community, might be a good starting point for a much bigger change in the future. Or perhaps they simply represent a desire to return to one's roots and achieve a slightly slower lifestyle.

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