There’s nothing green about your back-up generator. Manufacturing it released tons of CO2 into the atmosphere; so did shipping it from the factory to the dealership to your backyard. There it will sit, idle, waiting to be deployed only when the much cleaner—but underfunded—public infrastructure fails. At that point, it will fill the air with additional pollutants. There may be perfectly good reasons to buy an emergency generator but being green—that is, protecting the environment—isn’t one of them.
As the forces shaping our built environment have shifted, engaging technology, networks, and complex systems, architects need to envision more than the physical space but produce narratives on how to best operate within this new societal landscape. In this context, speculative architecture seems to have never been more critical; therefore this article takes a closer look at the mediums that currently question the existing conditions of the built environment and explore new architectural possibilities.
When it comes to the design process behind architectural projects, brainstorming is never the same for everyone. Some find inspiration in crowded rooms with loud music in the background, some walk around public spaces and observe people’s behaviors, and some need almost no resources whatsoever, just a pen, paper, and complete silence.
In an interview with architecture filmographers Spirit of Space, Steven Holl shares how being completely isolated in the Watercolor Hut contributed to some of his office’s most notable creations.
Final Project by Khalya. Image Courtesy of PennPraxis x Fresh Air Fund
This past summer, the nonprofit design practice, PennPraxis, in partnership with The Fresh Air Fund, piloted a new program, Virtual Design Studio, that sparked the imaginations of nearly 150 students to show how design has the power to change the built environment. Their courses, which were taught by University of Pennsylvania Stuart Weitzman School of Design graduate students, generated multiple designs for a nature center operated by The Fresh Air Fund and public spaces in New York City and offered children an introduction to explore future careers in design that could have a lasting impact on their communities and the design professions for years to come. Over the course of seven weeks, these students committed over 150 hours to the program while also receiving a stipend.
Adjaye Associates has unveiled its design for a new historical center for African consciousness, the Thabo Mbeki Presidential Library in Johannesburg. Named after the previous president of South Africa, the project is an opportunity to realize the dreams of Thabo Mbeki to advance and empower an African renaissance, according to the 2021 RIBA Royal Gold Medal winner Sir David Adjaye.
OMA and Shohei Shigematsu have designed a proposal for Miami Beach’s first underwater sculpture park and artificial reef in Florida. Working with Ximena Caminos and BlueLab Preservation Society, the project will function as an artificial reef to protect and preserve Miami’s marine life and coastal resilience. Called ReefLine, the design will be a new 7-mile underwater public sculpture park, snorkel trail and artificial reef located off Miami Beach’s shoreline.
Building design today, and throughout the 20th century, has been significantly shaped by fire safety considerations. Architects today are familiar with the wide range of code requirements for a building to be compliant, from materials, to fire extinguisher locations, to fire-rated walls and doors. As buildings have become better-equipped to withstand fire emergencies, however, modern life has simultaneously increased the amount of fire hazards we live with.
The built manifestation of an ideology, the urban landscape left behind by the socialist regimes around Europe are removed from the aspirations of contemporary urban living, thus trigger a unique process of re-appropriation of the post-soviet landscapes. The short film Landscape Architecture: Rethinking The Future out of a Totalitarian Past created by Minimal Movie invites a conversation around urban planning, cultural identity, and community building relating to the urbanism and architecture of Ukraine's Socialist Era.
I spent four glorious days in Copenhagen in 2017 and left with an acute case of urban envy. (I kept thinking: It’s like..an American Portland—except better.) Why can’t we do cities like this in the United States? That’s the question an urban nerd like me asks while strolling the famously pedestrian-friendly streets, as hordes of impossibly blond and fit Danes bicycle briskly past.
Washington D.C. has earned a reputation for iconic architecture. Emerging from the L'Enfant and McMillan Plans, Washington’s cityscape includes wide streets and low-rise buildings that sprawl out from circles and rectangular plazas. From the White House to Lincoln Memorial, Washington’s architecture was built to symbolize the nation’s values. Today, new projects are designed to rethink the city’s morphology while respecting its identity.
The 1st stage of the Architectural Visualization Awards has come to an end. 30 finalists, 10 from each category: Exterior, Interior, and Conceptual were selected by the official ArchDaily jury. Launched thanks to IPEVO, Cove.tool, and Concepts, this 1st edition of the award gathered a whopping number of proposals, with 750 visualizations submitted from all over the world.
Courtesy of KPMB Architects with Omar Gandhi Architect
The Art Gallery of Nova Scotia has announced KPMB and Omar Gandhi Studio have won the competition to create a new gallery along the Halifax waterfront. The new gallery and arts district, located on the Salter Block of the coastline, was designed as a new AGNS that offers an array of accessible experiences for all senses, and at all scales. The final design embodies a vision of a place for all seasons, rooted in sustainability, connecting the city at the water.
One of the great difficulties we encounter with “classic” plan delineation methodologies are ramp and stair projections. It has always been difficult to avoid calculating the ramp’s slope, as well as the dimensions of the footprint and riser of the communication staircase between two floors of a building. Do they comply with current regulations in my country? Do they adapt to the project standards? Will they be accurately calculated?
Thanks to great advances in project modeling using BIM methodology and Revit software, these calculations can be made with greater ease. However, these elements will probably be an aspect of modeling that will bring us the most difficulties in the project phase.
Paul Revere Williams, the late architect who was the first black member of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), has recently been receiving some long-overdue recognition. The AIA awarded him a posthumous gold medal in 2017; a PBS documentary “Hollywood’s Architect: The Paul R. Williams Story” aired in February, and a book titled “Regarding Paul R. Williams: A Photographer’s View” was published in September.
The sshhh 2 pod (right) takes all the important aspects of a meeting room and throws everything else away. The result is shockingly small – the 4-person sshhh 4 weighs just 400kg and fits inside a standard elevator. Image via Architonic
The gradual accumulation of various complementary technologies has unshackled employees from previously restrictive office and desk-based work. In the modern world, they have the freedom to work wherever they want, be it at home, on the train, in a café, in the park or anywhere else. These often cacophonous working locations, however, provide little privacy, and often result in the pioneering professionals fighting a losing battle against concentration.
Zbraslav Square . Image Courtesy of Architects for Urbanity
Recognizing the importance of international contests in pushing forward inventive concepts and design, ArchDaily has put together a curated selection of Best Unbuilt Architecture featuring competition entries from around the globe. Submitted by our readers, these projects include winning proposals, honorable mentions, and recognized admissions.
In this week’s article, urban interventions take the lead with multiple square designs and infrastructural elements. On the cultural level, projects underlined include Museums in Iran and Norway, a National Concert hall in Lithuania, and a Mosque in Turkey. For the civic category, the functions highlighted comprise a new city hall for a South Korean district and an Indian community development center for at-risk women. Finally, other programs involve a rural school in Haiti, a tourist center in China, and a housing complex in Prague.
The International Design Competition for Alibaba’s Central ChinaHeadquarters selected the proposal presented by Benoy as the winning scheme. The architectural firm will work with Alibaba and the local community to build a future-proof urban space and promote the development of the tech industry in Wuhan, China.
The team of von Gerkan, Marg and Partners Architects (gmp) has created a new vision for the Berlin-Tegel Airport in Germany. As of May 2021, the site will be developed into a research and industrial park for urban technologies. Dubbed the Berlin TXL–Urban Tech Republic, the project will transform existing buildings to house new functions, and include the addition of a new start-up and innovation center in the central terminal building.
In 2021, as part of a collaboration between Mexican firms LEGORRETA and Taller Mauricio Rocha + Gabriela Carrillo, ground will be broken for the new Four Seasons Resort Tamarindo in Mexico. The new facility will sit on 800 hectares of Pacific Ocean coastline in the state of Jalisco, between La Manzanilla and Barra de Navidad. The area, called "Costa Alegre" or "Joyful Coast," is renowned for its private beaches, landscape, and geography.
https://www.archdaily.com/951584/legorreta-and-taller-mauricio-rocha-plus-gabriela-carrillo-team-up-to-design-new-four-seasons-resort-in-mexicoArchDaily Team
Under the theme of “good neighbors”, the IE School of Architecture and Design celebrated World Architecture Day, highlighting the importance of our commitment and collective responsibility for the future of human beings, societies, and built environments.
To celebrate the projects that have impacted our daily lives positively, the university showcased these buildings on their social media platforms and asked renowned architects and program directors on the importance of maintaining a sense of community and what makes buildings our good neighbors. The school hosted its dean Martha Thorne and award-winning international architect Jeanne Gang during a live interview on Instagram to discuss the evolution of the field of architecture after this year’s new set of living conditions.
What's better than a house with a pool? A house with a pool that's part of the structure of the house. These projects show different ways to incorporate pools and how to resolve issues of weight, moisture and leaks. See the houses below, featuring photos by photographers like Mariela Apollonio, Kent Soh y Marcello Mariana.
Digital Category - entombment of fear exterior_kyra swee yew yong. Image Courtesy of The Architecture Drawing Prize 2020
The Architecture Drawing Prize 2020 announced the shortlisted entries in the Digital, Hand-drawn and Hybrid categories. This year’s contest gathered more admissions than the previous edition, with 165 entries from 30 countries, 35 of which are from students and under-30 architects. In addition, the 2020 competition introduced the ‘Lockdown Prize’, focused on the global pandemic, awarded to a drawing related to the architectural changes brought by the coronavirus.
Architecture and design practice Coop Himmelb(l)au has shared the new vision for the Kemerovo Museum and Theatre Complex in Russia. Located east of the city center between Sovetskiy Prospekt and Pritomskiy Prospekt, the proposed project is part of the Iskitimka river landscape. The complex is made to create a new cultural hub and future architectural landmark within the cityscape.
When we study Amancio Williams' work, it almost always centers on his emblematic Bridge House, built for his father in Mar del Plata between 1943 and 1946, or his technical role in Le Corbusier's Casa Curutchet. Of course, to study Williams is to confront several questions: Did he not design any other residential projects? What modernist ideas and concepts can we glimpse into his work? How did his work impact the development of Argentine architecture?
.jpg?1605822515 "Surface Ex-Tension by Jonathan Craig, Luis Arjona, Marco Nieto & Philip Elmore. Image Courtesy of Arch Out Loud. Image Courtesy of Arch Out Loud")
.jpg?1605563692)
