LTL Architects have released the latest version of the Manual of Physical Distancing exploring the spatial impact of COVID-19. The 211 page document visualizes scientific studies and design practices addressing the viral spread, and includes new section on urban vs suburban transmission rates, solar radiation and medical research on masks.

Facades are the first barrier outside a building. They weather rain, snow, winds, sun, and temperature changes. Their primary function is to keep interiors free of water, thermal bridges intact, and internal atmospheres as comfortable as possible. This reality is why the detailing of facades is usually done by experienced architects or specialized companies, who understand materials and construction methods well and are able to select the best solutions for each circumstance. But some projects have facades with such complex detailing, encompassing thousands and thousands of lines, hatches, and dimensions, that they inspire a particularly awestruck response. Making these drawings didactic, technical, and, above all, beautiful, is a task few can achieve to perfection. We spoke with Troy Donovan, the creator of the 188,000 follower Instagram account @the_donnies, who does this job like few others. Read the interview below.

Architects and designers of the built environment are often conceptualized in popular culture as progressive change agents whose canvas of steel and glass brings light to the public realm. At least one global survey of the public’s trust in various professions places architects in a top-ranked cohort that includes medical professionals and first responders. But in the United States, the architecture profession is surprisingly older and much less progressive than one might imagine.

Youth Centers are facilities designed to provide a safe, informal and supervised environment for young people. They accommodate unstructured social interaction among different age groups and provide the space to offer more structured activities. By giving youth the opportunity to take part in recreational and cultural activities or vocational counseling, these centers help them develop their physical, social, emotional, and cognitive abilities and to experience achievement, enjoyment, friendship, and recognition.

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Guallart Architects has won the international competition for the design of a mixed-use community in Xiong'an, China, defining an urban model that merges the traditional European urban blocks, the Chinese modern towers, and the productive farming landscape.

This week’s curated selection of Best Unbuilt Architecture encompasses conceptual proposals submitted by our readers. It features diverse functions and tackles different scales, from a spiraling bridge in China to a transportation hub dedicated primarily to space travel in Japan.

Comprising uncommon design approaches, this article introduces a humanitarian architectural response to the needs of the residents in an informal Egyptian settlement. In the master plan category, a Green city proposal highlights how we should develop our cities and neighborhoods in the future, and the first net-zero energy airport in Mexico reinterprets holistic design approaches. Moreover, the roundup presents different cultural interventions, from a museum in Botswana, an installation at the Burning Man festival by AI Studio, and an observatory in Vietnam.

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SPEECH has designed a proposal for the World Trade Centre (WTC), in Moscow, Russia, one of the largest and oldest mixed-use business complexes built initially in 1980. The suggested project introduces two glass blocks to the city’s skyline, featuring mixed-use functions such as offices, cafés, and shops.

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Simon Allford has been elected for the highest position in UK architecture, as the next President of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). Taking over the two-year presidential starting 1 September 2021, Allford, founding director of AHMM, will succeed to Alan Jones.

Exhibit Columbus has announced the new 2020-21 theme, as well as the J. Irwin and Xenia S. Miller Prize recipients. As an exploration of architecture, art, design, and community, the programming is meant to activate the design legacy of Columbus, Indiana through free, public exhibitions. The symposium and exhibition cycle explores the future of the center of the United States and the regions connected by the Mississippi Watershed.

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Interiors are taking center stage in 2020, as more people are spending more time at home. Architects and designers are increasingly aware of their responsibility in improving their clients’ well-being and even helping them in the prevention of diseases, as they search for the best solutions for their interior design projects.

ArchDaily’s featured monthly topic for March was dedicated to Interiors and the articles related to this topic accumulated over 1 million pageviews, surpassing by 240% the number of pageviews achieved in other months in the same semester.

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: Communist Culture and Socialist Sports.

The ICONIC AWARDS 2020: Innovative Architecture, organized by the German Design Council, honor the best architecture and design solutions internationally. This year’s winners have now been announced and can set themselves clearly apart from their competitors thanks to their title. The special awards, were presented to Kengo Kuma and Associates (“Architects of the Year”) and Alberto Caiola Studio (“Interior Designers of the Year”). The “Architects’ Client of the Year” honor went to Adidas AG.

If we define deconstructivism, it literally translates to the breaking down, or demolishing of a constructed structure, whether it being for structural reasons or just an act of rebellion. It is perhaps for this reason that many misunderstand the Deconstructivist movement.

Deconstructivism is, in fact, not a new architecture style, nor is it an avant-garde movement against architecture or society. It does not follow “rules” or acquire specific aesthetics, nor is it a rebellion against a social dilemma. It is the unleashing of infinite possibilities of playing around with forms and volumes.

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CRA - Carlo Ratti Associati has unveiled a major extension for Brazilia, reinterpreting “Lúcio Costa and Oscar Niemeyer’s modernist master plan for Biotic - a high-tech innovation district immersed in nature”. Developed in collaboration with Ernst&Young, the project that started in 2018 reimagines primarily the superblocks.

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MAD Architects has just released its design for the Wormhole Library, a curved structure that serves as a multi-functional building, allowing visitors to read, enjoy the sea views and attend open-air performances. Located on the coast in Haikou, Hainan Province in China, the “wormhole” pavilion is now under construction and is expected to be completed in 2021.

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MASS Design Group has published a COVID-19 design guide for Senior Housing. Made by the firm's Design Response team, it includes strategies and best practices for retrofitting and upgrading existing buildings. The guide aims to help senior housing developers and operators as they work to manage infection control while balancing social and cultural needs with emerging research on the coronavirus.

Safety and design are not mutually exclusive - especially when you choose EGGER products with certified antibacterial surface property. The wood-based materials manufacturer makes it easy for architects and fabricators in their projects with high hygiene requirements: the antibacterial property is included in products with the proven EGGER decor and material combination.

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.

Whether built, written or drawn, the work of American architect, theorist and educator Peter Eisenman (born 11th August 1932) is characterized by Deconstructivism, with an interest in signs, symbols and the processes of making meaning always at the foreground.

Foster + Partners has revealed visuals for its Pitt Street OSD and metro station design in Sydney, Australia. Stretching out underground across an entire city block, the over station development in the center of the city puts in place a 39-story office building and “creates a vibrant mixed-use hub offering flexible space with an elevated lobby and retail plaza in the heart of Sydney’s retail, dining, and entertainment precinct”.

Despite a bad reputation in children's stories, straw buildings can be sustainable, comfortable, and, above all, solid and resistant. Several studies and experiments have been carried out with this agricultural waste substance, qualifying it as an potential material for the construction of walls, with good thermal, acoustic, and even structural characteristics. In addition, it is a renewable resource and easily constructed. Below, we'll talk about the characteristics of this material and how much more it would take than the breath of a big bad wolf to bring down a house made of straw.