The Architecture Thesis of the Year | ATY 2020 an international architecture thesis competition organized by the Charette, unveiled the winners of this year’s edition. Aiming to “extend appreciation to the tireless effort and exceptional creativity of student thesis in the fields of Architecture, Urban Design, Landscape and Restoration”, the contest gathered over 1000 entries from all over the world.

Danish architecture firm TREDJE NATUR has designed a new 40-hectare regenerative masterplan for Bergen, Norway. The grand vision aim to bring new life to an old logistics port and ferry terminal. The plan outlines a zero-emission district focused on a community-based sharing economy, renewable building materials and climate adaptation strategies. The proposal emphasizes Bergen’s relation to the fjord, nature and history.

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Recent studies note the lack of growth in productivity and innovation in the construction fields. Quickly falling behind other sectors, this stagnation often leads to projects that are over-budget or over-schedule (or both). Part of this inefficiency could be combated by more effective coordination among the architects and various consultants during the design phase. Currently, an estimated 30% of project time is spent in coordination tasks within the team. A new Integrated Design tool aims to make collaboration more seamless, with the end result of more efficient communication and ultimately better buildings. 

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Piscina Mirabilis is a Roman reservoir built by Emperor Augustus in the 1st century AD, in order to feed with drinking water the headquarter of his western Mediterranean war fleet. It was dug out a tuff hill, and it is based on a regular grid of pillars and arcs. The vaulted reservoir is 15 meters high, 72 meters long, 25 meters wide and features 48 brick pillars. 

UNStudio has unveiled images of the first finished stations on the new Doha Metro Network, one of the most advanced and fastest driverless systems in the world. Phase one of the Qatar Integrated Railway Project (QIRP), involved the construction of three metro lines (Red, Green, and Gold), with 37 stations currently having been completed.

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Urban Forest, a 30-story mixed-use residential high-rise is the latest development designed by Koichi Takada Architects. Located in South Brisbane, Australia, the building features one of the world’s most densely-forested vertical gardens, going beyond regular green buildings norms and achieving “300% site cover with living greenery, featuring 1000 plus trees and more than 20,000 plants selected from 259 native species”. Increasing biodiversity and reducing the ecological footprint, the structure highlights another stage in the evolution of the architectural vertical garden.

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The Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2021 have been released. Including over 1,500 universities across 93 countries and regions, the latest rankings is one of the largest to date. Featuring a range of subjects, including architecture, the rankings are based on 13 performance indicators that measure an institution’s performance across teaching, research, knowledge transfer and international outlook.

The technology used in smartphone facial recognition or digital car keys has the potential to revolutionize the way people access and move through buildings. Many common aspects of building access systems today seem outdated in comparison to technological advances in other parts of our lives: PIN pads, security badges, key cards, even physical locks and keys. However, the technology already exists with the potential to make building access simultaneously more seamless and more secure.

New Generations is a European platform that analyses the most innovative emerging practices at the European level, providing a new space for the exchange of knowledge and confrontation, theory, and production. Since 2013, New Generations has involved more than 300 practices in a diverse program of cultural activities, such as festivals, exhibitions, open calls, video-interviews, workshops, and experimental formats.

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought to the forefront an acute awareness of infection control in building design, both in public spaces as well as our personal spaces like homes and offices. Infection prevention and control experts consistently advise that improved hand hygiene is critical in maintaining a safe and sanitary environment. However, handwashing is not as simple as it would seem at first blush. The faucet itself is a major infection vector unless careful precautions are taken. The obvious answer to increasing the effectiveness of hand washing is by reducing the danger of being re-contaminated by the faucet through hands-free operation.

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Running from 11 September till 15 November 2020, "Thom Mayne: Sculptural Drawings" is the latest architectural exhibition at Tchoban Foundation Museum for Architectural Drawing in Berlin. Curated by Kristin Feireiss, together with Esenija Bannan, the project questions the nature of architectural drawing and how it influenced the work of Thom Mayne, founder of Morphosis. The exhibition features Mayne’s works dating from 1979 through 2020 and leads visitors from “traditional” drawings and new experimentations with techniques, through to 3D paintings.

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10 Design has revealed images of its winning scheme for China Fortune’s 243,768sqm contemporary mixed-use destination. Part of the redevelopment vision of an old military airport in Nanjing, China, the project puts in place three interconnecting buildings linked by a sunken street, incorporating office, retail, and cultural spaces.

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The new Palace of Justice in Kuwait by PACE is currently under construction. Al-Diwan Al-Amiri plans for the project to include a 25-story building with 123 courtrooms, as well as both automated and conventional parking for 3000 cars. The Palace is designed to be a "symbol of fairness and integrity" for Kuwait.

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With a complex debate underway about monuments and the way we engage history, we should start thinking about a COVID-19 Memorial. Yes, I know we are in the middle (or is it still the start?) of this pandemic, but the intensity of the moment might actually help us envision what such a memorial could be. Instead of waiting for a time when we have more distance from our current catastrophe, we should capture the passions coursing through society right now.

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.