Working since he was 16, Swiss architect Mario Botta (April 1, 1943) has become a prolific and well known crafter of space, designing a huge array of places of worship, private homes, and museums, perhaps most notably the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the Church of San Giovanni Battista in Mogno, Switzerland. His use of traditional masonry over the streamlined steel and glass of so much modern architecture creates strong, self-confident buildings that pull together the contrast between the weight of his materials and lightness of his designs.

In times of quarantine, architects and designers are settling into a new remote working environment. In this process of implementing platforms and workflows to work from home, the risk of social isolation remains real, even for companies used to this environment, such as ArchDaily. As David Basulto, CEO of ArchDaily, wrote last week, the quarantine implies not just working online, but "staying connected and support each other."

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Reparametrize Studio has followed up their ongoing research “Re-Coding Post-War Syria”, with a project that focuses on analyzing the damaged fabric of post-war cities through 3D scanning technologies. Taking a Street in Zamalka Town in Damascus, Syria as a case study, the investigation can distinguish the areas in need of reconstruction from the areas in useful conditions.

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Located in the sustainability zone of EXPO 2020 Dubai, the Czech pavilion, designed by Formosa AA and R/FRM, is an invitation for discovery. Raising questions concerning desert cultivation, it integrates and exposes the S.A.W.E.R. system cultivation plant. Visible technologies form the main formal and visual components of the pavilion.

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Chairman of the Indonesian Architects Association (IAI) Ahmad Djuhara died at the Infection Disease Hospital (RSPI) Sulianti Saroso last Friday afternoon. The news was posted by the IAI, though no cause of death has been confirmed. Djuhara founded the architectural firm Djuhara + Djuhara together with his wife, architect Wendy Djuhara, and was a major voice for architecture and design throughout Indonesia.

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In a world marked by urbanization, the digital revolution, and climate change, traditional approaches to real estate are not enough. To respond to this context, students in the Master in Real Estate Development at the IE School of Architecture and Design are encouraged to go beyond traditional practices and think outside the box.

Just 2 months ago, the city of Wuhan, China announced the construction of Wuhan Huoshenshan Hospital, adding 1,000 beds, 30 ICUs, and new isolation wards to the city's medical arsenal to combat the Coronavirus epidemic. The building was completed in under 10 days by a team of 7,000 construction workers, a far cry from the reality many countries are facing as they scramble to quell the outbreak and wrestle with the shortcomings of their own healthcare systems. With over 14,000 dead and more than 300,000 infected worldwide, not to mention a shortage of medical supplies and facilities, health systems across the globe are feeling the strain of preparing for a crisis.

In 2012, Hurricane Sandy struck the eastern coastline of the United States and caused a level of flooding and destruction that was unprecedented for a major, densely populated city like New York. Storm surges brought a terrifying amount of water to the city streets, tunnels and subways; the National Ocean Service reported a 9.4-foot surge over Battery Park. Essential infrastructure was damaged in many areas, homes were flooded and people were trapped.

As people are spending more and more time inside their homes, offices, and other closed areas, it is important to ensure that these spaces are safe and healthy environments, especially indoor areas designed for children and seniors. In recent years, several of the materials that shape the spaces we inhabit and directly influence the quality of the air we breathe have increasingly used a potentially dangerous chemical compound. This compound is called formaldehyde.

With a sizable portion of the world's population hunkered down at home, online activities have become the go-to for those looking to fill, often hours, of newfound free time. Thanks to the cooperation of several companies, anyone with an internet connection now has access to a trove of online educational (courses, workshops, tutorials) and recreational (documentaries, digital books, virtual tours) activities that can be enjoyed from home. Just a few years ago, Google Street View was a practical tool for virtually navigating the world's metropolitan and suburban centers. Today, thanks to technological improvements and user-driven data collection, Street View has become a way to glimpse inside some of the world's most iconic buildings.

Opposite Office has proposed to transform the new Berlin airport, under construction since 2006, into a “Superhospital” for coronavirus patients. In an attempt to prepare the healthcare system and increase its capabilities, Opposite Office presented an adaptive reuse alternative, drawing contextual solutions to fight the pandemic.

In light of the coronavirus pandemic affecting the entire world, the board of the Salone del Mobile. Milano has decided to postpone the 2020 edition of the annual fair until next year. The international event will, therefore, take place from the 13th to the 18th of April 2021.

The Danish Architecture Center (DAC) in Copenhagen has launched a free podcast series called Let’s Talk Architecture. The series is in English, with nine episodes available on iTunes and Spotify. Though the center is currently closed for the time being due to the world-wide coronavirus pandemic, the institution is still working to share knowledge about architecture, cities, engineering, and design with the public.

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Videos

In his book "Life 3.0", MIT professor Max Tegmark says "we are all the guardians of the future of life now as we shape the age of AI." Artificial Intelligence remains a Pandora's Box of possibilities, with the potential to enhance the safety, efficiency, and sustainability of cities, or destroy the potential for humans to work, interact, and live a private life. The question of how Artificial Intelligence will impact the cities of the future has also captured the imagination of architects and designers, and formed a central question to the 2019 Shenzhen Biennale, the world's most visited architecture event.

How does computer programming impact the act of designing? Are digital protocols about to substitute human activity in the project of architecture, or does the human component remain an essential one - through changed paradigms? And if so, which paradigms should we refer to? Charles Driesler and Ahmad Tabbakh retrace these fundamental questions through some recent examples, and propose the application of a GAN protocol for the post-war reconstruction of Aleppo.

In a short but prodigious career Raymond Mathewson Hood (March 29, 1881 – August 14, 1934) had an outsized influence on twentieth century architecture. Born in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, Hood was the son of a box manufacturer in an affluent Baptist family.[1] He attended Brown University before studying at MIT School of Architecture, later graduating from the École des Beaux-Arts in 1911. While in Paris, Hood met John Mead Howells, who in 1922 would select him as a partner for the design of the Chicago Tribune Tower. The team would beat out many more avant-garde entries by the likes of Walter Gropius, Adolf Loos, and Eliel Saarinen, with their own Neo-Gothic edifice that mimicked the Butter Tower of Rouen Cathedral.

The 13th edition of International Color Awards, an event honouring achievements in color photography, has recently presented its gala and here are some of the winners and nominees.

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One of the most important cities in the world –and the most populated in the United States of America–, New York is home to a great mix of cultures and history that has been shaped over the years, while art and architecture play a fundamental role in this development.

Following the recommendations of public authorities and the WHO general guidelines towards the COVID-19 pandemic, The International Union of Architects, UIA, the Institute of Architects of Brazil, IAB and the Executive Committee UIA2020RIO have decided to postpone the 27th World Congress of Architects to July 2021. The announcement echoes several other events related to architecture that had to be postponed, including the Venice Biennale and the Salone del Mobile.

The architecture thought regarding the buildings with infrastructure programs tend, generally, to ponder its reflection in issues related to the site, flow organization, revitalization, and well-articulated uses, as these projects usually are connected to a great number of users and multiple simultaneous purposes.