Situated at the foot of 45 hills along the Chilean coast, Valparaíso was a key port in the South Pacific during the 20th century before the construction of the Panama Canal. Thanks to its rapid industrial and commercial growth, the port underwent an urban transformation, attracting thousands of foreigners and cementing its reputation as a bustling South American cosmopolis rich in society, culture, and architecture.
Described by The Guardian as a "Berlin by the seaside", Valparaiso's historic downtown was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2003 and the city's cultural and architectural wealth make it a must-see for tourists and architecture aficionados alike.
In this article, we present a guide written by one of the city's many enthusiasts that will give a complete and in-depth look at the port's many treasures. The guide is written as if for a walking tour, starting in Plaza Sotomayor, the city's main square. The route can be divided into two days, with the first part ending at the Palacio Baburizza and the second beginning with the Valparaiso Cultural Park. Take a tip from the experts--if you get lost, don't trust an app to find your way. Ask a local!
The planet is dying, and we are the reason why. If nature’s decline continues at its current pace, we stand to face increasing natural disasters, loss of biodiversity, and threats to public health. Waste is the largest contributing factor to this problem. And the built environment is one of the top producers of waste in the world—period. But innovation can save the planet.
Modern Portuguese architecture has a renowned tradition of exploring the virtues of the landscape, either by integrating or emphasizing the natural elements to create new landscapes that result from the overlapping of culture and nature. Some fine examples are the Boa Nova Tea House and the Leça da Palmeira Tide Pools, both designed by Álvaro Siza, reacting to the rocky seascape where they lie, each in its own way.
However, it is not just Modern Architecture that is concerned with the landscape. In Portugal, contemporary works have been revealing exciting examples of the possibilities of approaching the natural environment, exploring its potential without compromising its integrity. To illustrate this, we have gathered 12 contemporary projects that use different resources to explore the relationship between natural and built.
The world's population is expected to reach 9.7 billion in 2050, an increase of 2 billion persons in the next 30 years.
As the world's population continues to increase, new challenges are expected to arise in addition to the aggravating issues already faced today. How will we live together? The theme of the Venice Biennale of Architecture, postponed to 2021, intends to instigate discussions and proposals concerning the role of architecture in times of increasing political differences, intolerance, and growing economic inequality.
"Les Jumeaux" or The Twins is a new large-scale public urban intervention by French artist and designer Camille Walala in White City, West London. The project encompasses two pedestrian crossings and seven striking murals, created with geometric patterns and primary colors, Walala’s signature style. Moreover, Camille Walala also unveiled this month her East London intervention, a giant work of art aiming to breathe new life into the street and boost the local economy, entitled "Walala Parade".
Nieto Sobejano Arquitectos have unveiled the new design for Cité du Théâtre, a large cultural center promoted by the French government in Paris. They will be working with French office Marin+Trottin Architectes, and the project will be located in the Ateliers Berthier. The winning project is based on the creation of a large elevated garden that establishes a visual continuity with Martin Luther King Park.
In all cities around the world, there are some forms of residual space, forgotten pieces of the urban fabric, remnants of overlapping layers of past development. This land whose conditions make it unsuitable for most types of conventional construction might be a fertile ground for architectural invention. Assigning a new value to vacant corner lots, dead-end alleys and strangely shaped plots opens up a new field of opportunities for inward urban development, expanding available living space and increasing amenities in densely populated cities. The following explores the potential for experiment and urban activation held by urban leftover space.
The most arresting image, among many, in the documentary Laurel Canyon: A Place in Time, directed by Alison Ellwood, is a black-and-white photograph of Eric Clapton visiting Los Angeles for the first time on tour with Cream. He sits a few feet from Joni Mitchell, who is playing guitar, with a visibly stoned David Crosby in the background on the backyard lawn of Cass Elliot’s house. Clapton observes Mitchell with such a smoldering intensity you think he’s going to blow an amp. He is transfixed by Mitchell not because she was striking—and she was—but because of her musicianship.
Neutelings Riedijk Architects has unveiled images for the Heldentoren, the latest icon of Knokke-Heist, in Belgium. Scheduled for construction starting October 2020, the mixed-use 70 meters high development is set to become one of the highest towers along the Belgian coast.
The City of Parramatta has released a revised vision for the new Parramatta Square civic hub in Australia. Designed by Manuelle Gautrand Architecture with firms Designinc and Lacoste + Stevenson, the multi-purpose, six-story building will accommodate a variety of uses. Called 5 Parramatta Square, the project is designed to be a new community, cultural, and civic heart.
In the wake of the pandemic, designers and architects are rethinking and inventing innovative solutions for nearly every sector of design from hospitality, restaurants, workplace experience, and landscape architecture. According to the World Health Organization, 19 percent of factors that affect our health and well-being are directly related to the built environment, making architects and designers key to protecting public health.
https://www.archdaily.com/946945/architects-and-designers-urge-action-on-healthier-policy-prioritiesLeilah Stone
Since the 1990s, copious amounts of cities in China have been undergoing urban renewal. Prompted by this state-facilitated urban redevelopment, skyscrapers are being built rapidly in major cities to attract affluent middle-classes, resulting in countless relocation and displacement of the working-class population. Such process is known as “gentrification”.
As cities and neighborhoods are being gentrified thoroughly to meet middle-class taste and boost economic growth, urban land resources are being treated in ways to increase business potential, leaving little room for the development of urban street life. Among rows of concrete and steel constructions, nowadays, urbanites are struggling to find a place to sit, rest, and play during leisure time. Analyzing five architectural practices creating livable urban public spaces, this article discusses the challenges and opportunities of urban revitalization in China under the phenomenon of gentrification.
OBJECT CARPET’s recent collaboration with multidisciplinary architecture and design studio Ippolito Fleitz Group has led to expansive, unconventional and, more importantly, sustainable results.
This article is part of "Eastern Bloc Architecture: 50 Buildings that Defined an Era", a collaborative series by The Calvert Journal and ArchDaily highlighting iconic architecture that had shaped the Eastern world. Every week both publications will be releasing a listing rounding up five Eastern Bloc projects of certain typology. Read on for your weekly dose: Cinemas.
It only took a couple of seconds to destroy 40% of the city of Beirut on August 4th, 2020. A couple of trivial seconds were enough to determine the fate of the urban and social fabric of the Lebanese capital and its architectural heritage. Years and years of accumulated cultural assets fell instantly in distress, causing more harm than the infamous 15-year civil war. These seconds have erased the past, present, and destroyed future aspirations.
Hit right in its rich cultural center, the blast of the port shook the northeastern side of the Lebanese capital, leaving the neighborhoods of Mdawar, Rmeil, Gemmayze, Achrafieh, Mar Mkhayel, Karantina, and Geitawi, severely hurt. According to the UN Development Programme (UNDP), 200,000 housing units were affected by the explosions, with an estimated 40,000 buildings damaged, of which 3,000 were severely damaged.
The winners have been announced for the International Competition for the Design of the Prospekt Marshala Zhukova and Klenoviy Bulvar 2 Metro Stations in Moscow, Russia. The judges awarded the first prize for designing the Klenovy Bulvar 2 station on the Biryulyovskaya line to a consortium headed by Zaha Hadid Architects, while the first prize for the Prospekt Marshala Zhukova station was granted to the Russian firm, ASADOV Architectural Bureau.
Richard Rogers has retired from Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners after founding the practice 43 years ago. As one of Britain’s greatest living architects, he is known for iconic, hi-tech architecture, including the Lloyd’s building in London and the Pompidou Centre in Paris. The Pritzker Prize-winner has become one of the world's most distinct architects, utilizing bright colors and structural elements to create a style that is both recognizable and adaptable.
The Bachelor in Architectural Studies thesis projects at the IE School of Architecture and Design are exciting displays following students' years of study, exploration and hard work. This year, the students produced creative, surprising and theoretically-sound solutions to architectural problems - primarily based in the Spanish city of Valencia.
Comparing revenues from the previous year, Architectural Record lines up annually a list of the Top 300 U.S. Firms. Based on the 2019 data, Gensler tops again the selection, for the ninth year in a row, and Perkins and Will takes the second position. Third, fourth and fifth places were presented for Engineering Architecture firms HDR, Jacobs, and AECOM. Other companies in the top 10 include HKS and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill.
ZAS Architects and Denmark-based CEBRA Architecture have unveiled a new student hub at the University of Toronto Scarborough Campus (UTSC). The new facility was made to be a learning landscape that promotes agile and asynchronous education through rooms and open public spaces spanning multiple floors. Artificial terrain flows from the outside in, creating a hybrid of social and study areas to support campus life.
Interior design begins with human experience. Considering the physical, mental, and emotional needs of people, interior designers use human-centered approaches to address how we live today. Creating novel approaches to promoting health, safety, and welfare, contemporary interiors are increasingly inspired by biophilia as a holistic approach to design.
Sky-Frame – Swiss specialists in frameless sliding window and door systems – continue their ‘My Point of View’ series of video portraits with architect and designer Stephan Hürlemann, who shares his perspective on design and its role in a sustainable future.
MVRDV and The Why Factory (Delft University of Technology) revealed “Le Grand Puzzle”, a book that holds ambitious ideas for Marseille, in the south of France. In fact, the study, made from 2018 to the start of 2020, “proposes a methodology, an agenda, and an analysis to portray today’s Marseille”.