As far as written records report, “prehistory” dates back between 35,000 BCE and 3000 BCE in the Middle East (2000 BCE in Western Europe). Ancient builders had a profound understanding of human responses to environmental conditions and physical needs. Initially, families and tribes lived together in skin-covered huts and bone structures. Thousands of years later, human settlements evolved into fortified mud-brick walls surrounding rectangular volumes with pierced openings for ventilation and sunlight.
During the upcoming months, we will be publishing short articles on the history of architecture and how it evolved to set the fundamentals of architecture we know today. This week, we are going back to some of the earliest civilizations known to mankind: Megaliths, Mesopotamia, and Ancient Egypt.
The Construction Industry Coronavirus Forum (CICV) has launched posters to urge people to stop their abuse against key workers carrying out essential construction tasks, during the COVID-19 pandemic. The protective signage reading “Key Worker: Carrying out Essential Work”, has been distributed to be posted on construction sites and vans.
The MARABAR stone project by American sculptor Elyn Zimmerman is slated to be demolished at the National Geographic headquarters. Located in Washington D.C., it includes more than a million pounds of placed granite. Sited within buildings by Edward Durell Stone and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, the publicly accessible plaza would be demolished to accommodate a new pavilion.
AI in the architecture industry has provoked much debate in recent years - yet it seems like very few of us know exactly what it is or why it has created this storm of emotions. There are professionals researching AI who know more about the field than I do, but I have hands-on experience using AI and algorithms in my design over the past 10 years through various projects. This is one of the challenges that our field faces. How can we make practical use of these new tools?
Located in the southern region of the United States, the state of Florida is one of the most populous states and the 22nd largest. The state hosts some of the most populated areas in the country, such as Jacksonville and the Miami Metropolitan Area.
The COVID-19 pandemic has transformed how we travel and come together. As streets and buildings became empty and people practice social distancing, so too have airports experienced a tremendous decline in passengers and flights. As the aviation industry shaped globalization, it has also contributed to how quickly the disease spread. In a new aerial series, photographer Tom Hegen explores the pandemic's impact on aviation from above.
MASS Design Group has released a guideline for restaurants in response to the coronavirus pandemic, to help these business reopen safely, viably, and vibrantly. Based on world health recommendations, the drafted protocols aim to keep both staff and customers safe, as well as facilitate operations.
As architects around the world reimagine public spaces in the midst of the coronavirus, Italian architecture firm Caret Studio has envisioned the “StoDistante” installation. Searching to reconcile people with the outdoors, and allowing theses spaces to reopen safely while respecting the social distancing measures, Caret Studio created a temporary installation that reflects our current situation.
The Hungarian Government has decided to continue the design process for Diller Scofidio + Renfro's new Museum of Transport in Budapest. During the past few months, the COVID-19 pandemic cast doubt on the continuation of the project, and this latest news is a sign of support for the team's planning, design and preparatory work necessary for starting construction.
Architects, not Architecture decided to open their archive to help us cope with the current situation of not being able to go out as usual and create a source of inspiration and entertainment through sharing one of the unique talks from their previous 35 events, which have never been published before – including those of architects like Daniel Libeskind, Peter Cook, Richard Rogers, Massimiliano Fuksas, Kim Herforth Nielsen, Ben van Berkel, Benedetta Tagliabue, Mario Botta, Anupama Kundoo, and Sadie Morgan.
Every week, Archdaily will be sharing one of the Architects, not Architecture. talks which they are currently publishing online in the form of daily full-length video uploads as part of their “new event”: Home Edition 2020
Aedas has released images of the new Xiangyang Overseas Chinese Town Cultural & TourismDevelopment Area Joy Town. Expected to be completed in 2022, the project, located in the Ecological and Cultural Tourism Department in western Hubei, “will provide citizens and visitors with a unique and culturally immersive Xiangyang experience”.
Courtesy of the coronavirus, universities are closed around the world, and classrooms are now entertained over video conferencing. This is not overly dramatic as this temporary arrangement will eclipse after cases are contained, and classes will resume soon after. However, the impacts on the university ecosystem and on the urban fabric will require immediate renovations in higher education that will shape the architectural syllabus for years to come.
https://www.archdaily.com/939423/how-covid-19-will-shape-architectural-educationZaheer Allam, Gaetan Siew and Felix Fokoua
Originally, set to be completed by 2020, the Herzog & de Meuron £500million stadium for ChelseaFootball Club, will not move forward as planning permissions expired. The redevelopment plans, subject to numerous legal challenges throughout the years, are interrupted for now.
As the Great Philosopher, Mike Tyson said, “Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth”.
The COVID-19 pandemic will deeply impact the world of aesthetics. For the first time since League of Nations was founded, a future of universal aesthetics may cease to be the academically sanctioned Architectural Canon. As Markus Breitschmid defines it, in his article “In Defense of the Validity of the 'Canon' in Architecture,” the Canon in Architecture is a way to divorce architecture from the rest of the world:
Architect and urban designer Jaquelin “Jaque" Taylor Robertson, FAIA, has passed away at the age of 87. Known for his large-scale planning projects and private residences, his projects included the iconic town of Celebration, Florida. Often linked to New Urbanism and New Classical Architecture, Jaque also designed many award-winning houses in the Hamptons on the East End of Long Island.
The course in Architecture for Humanities was born to train designers who know how to compose meaningful architectures even in the most complex contexts to bring quality and beauty where you are not used to seeing it. Today, pandemic, economic crisis, migration and climate change have turned every area -from the periphery of our metropolis to the most remote tropical village- into what can be defined as “emergency context”.
Everyone likes to win. And if design is your passion, what could be better than winning a design award? Out of the multitude of design competitions in the world, the international A' Design Award is the largest, and now they've announced their winners of the 2019-2020 competition. Winners of this prestigious award must impress a jury panel of experts - 170+ press members, academics, and design professionals - in order to receive the A' Design Prize. In addition to the prestige, recognition, and international publicity, laureates are presented with a trophy, annual yearbook, certificate, invitation to the gala night, inclusion in the winners' exhibit, and more.
In February of this year, I gave a short talk to our Yale students about the economy and their employment prospects, suggesting that while all indicators remained strong and jobs were plentiful, it had been quite some time since our last downturn. Having seen several during my career I suggested that they would likely see a recession sometime in theirs, but cast doubt on whether we’d ever see anything as serious as 2008. If only…
It’s too early to be making nuanced arguments about the future, as we face down what is undoubtedly going to be a much more serious situation in the second half of 2020. So, here are ten first thoughts about how our profession may be impacted, and potentially transformed, as a result. Choose two or three as prompts to consider the future once the crisis has passed.
We are heading for a scenario in which BIM technology will greatly help us to maximize the roles and skills of civil construction professionals, making room for us to plan, design, build and manage buildings and infrastructures much more efficiently, integrating all systems, structural, mechanical, electrical and plumbing in a responsible, economical and sustainable way.
In a world devastated by war and destruction, new ideas for future reconstruction of cities are emerging. The latest technologies are creating opportunities to shape better built environments and better urban experiences. While the world has had its fair share of failed attempts of post-war reconstruction, the 21st century is promising concepts more in touch with culture, integration, and sustainability.
As we all know, technology is the game-changer of this century. It has ultimately modified how we design and build, and with the development of Artificial Intelligence, boundaries have been pushed furthermore. Able to transform the environment we live in, AI can also help shape a better version of the environment we have lost.
Stores in Santiago, Chile, ran out of yeast in mid-March, such as it happened after the beginning of the social crisis in 2019. Given that Chile has the second-highest bread consumption per capita in the world, it would seem that Chileans handle uncertainty stocking up ingredients for bread making. Everybody wants to make bread, including myself.
The Architectural League of New York has announced the winners of the 2020 Architectural League Prize for Young Architects + Designers. Focusing on fresh talent, North America’s most prestigious award encourages the development of distinctive individuals and underlines their work.
The OMA-Designed CMG Qianhai Global Trade Center has broken ground in Shenzhen. Unveiled during the inauguration ceremony for Qianhai Significant Projects in China, the mixed-used 360,000 square-meter development will create a Micro-City environment, blurring traditional boundaries between building and city.
Vitra Design Museum has debuted Chair Times, a 90-minute film that describes the history of seating furniture. Focusing on 125 objects from the collection of the Museum, the film explores the development of chairs over centuries, examining them as “portraits of their users.” Arranged according to their year of production, they are organized to form a timeline of modern seating design.