What happens when the sensor-imbued city acquires the ability to see – almost as if it had eyes? Ahead of the 2019 Shenzhen Biennale of Urbanism\Architecture (UABB), titled "Urban Interactions," ArchDaily is working with the curators of the "Eyes of the City" section at the Biennial to stimulate a discussion on how new technologies – and Artificial Intelligence in particular – might impact architecture and urban life. Here you can read the “Eyes of the City” curatorial statement by Carlo Ratti, the Politecnico di Torino and SCUT.

“We all live in an ecosystem; we just don’t know it. When it comes to urban areas, people have an ecological blind spot.” — Seth Magle, Director, Lincoln Park Zoo Urban Wildlife Institute, Chicago.

The advance of AI technologies can make it feel as if we know everything about our cities—as if all city dwellers are counted and accounted for, our urban existence fully monitored, mapped, and predicted.

The Adler Hotel Group have completed construction on a new, minimalist eco-hotel in Italy’s Dolomites mountain range. Called Adler Lodge Ritten, the project is located on the Ritten plateau, a short walk from the region’s historic narrow-gauge railway. The retreat was designed to blend into the surrounding forest by taking the form of rural alpine structures.

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As early as the 1970s, Emilio Ambasz (born 13 June 1943) initiated a discussion on sustainability through his work with green spaces and buildings which is arguably more important today than ever, and contributed to theoretical and design discourse outside of architecture through his wide variety of interest and career pursuits. Ambasz’s work has crossed several disciplines; he has been a curator, a professor, an industrial designer, and an architect, and is highly regarded in all of these varied pursuits.

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The Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago is presenting an exhibition devoted to the work of the ultra-modern, genre-bending artist and designer Virgil Abloh. Titled “Virgil Abloh: Figures of Speech” the immersive space has been curated by the Museum's Chief Curator Michael Darling, and Samir Bantal, a director at OMA’s research wing, focusing on the creative process and collaborative work of Abloh who is redefining fashion, art, and design.

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German architecture practice Ingenhoven has broken ground on a new mixed-use development for Düsseldorf. As a "green heart" and urban mountain in the city, the project is being built at Gustaf-Gründgens-Platz. Called Kö-Bogen II, the design reflects the character of the neighborhood while creating a new landmark with views to Hofgarten park. The roofs and facades of the project will feature extensive greenery with hornbeam hedges and plantings as a sustainable model for the inner city.

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Design lab Space Saloon recently wrapped up its second experimental design-build festival in Southern California. Dubbed FIELDWORKS, the festival aimed to rethink design-build and hands-on education. Following the success of the first workshop, LANDING, the group returned to Southern California to develop site-specific projects and workshops.

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The winners of the Kaira Loo Competition have been announced, dedicated to the design of a Peace Pavilion to be built in the city of Sedhiou, southern Senegal. The objective of the competition was to create a symbolic structure serving as a memorial to the victims of African wars, and that would sensitize the local and international community by creating a commemorative and educational space that respects both the environment and local traditions.

Paris architecture firm Jakob + MacFarlane has designed a retractable wood and glass exhibition hall for the Saint-Denis area of Paris. As a winning project in the C40 international "Reinventing Cities" competition, the project was made to reflect the historical industrial heritage of the surrounding context. Dubbed Odyssee Pleyel, the hall aims to showcase thought-leadership in carbon-neutral development and the global clean energy transition.

Danish architecture firm TREDJE NATUR has designed a new mixed-use housing project for Gladsaxe near Copenhagen. Called New Angle, the design shows how the United Nation’s SDG goals can be translated into pragmatic town houses formed in a perimeter block. The sustainable town house typology includes a tapered roof that works as a barrier for noise while opening up to the sky above.

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SO-IL has released details of their Las Americas social housing project in León, one of Mexico’s fastest-growing cities. Seeking to establish a solution to the nation’s housing crisis, SO-IL collaborated with the Instituto Municipal de Vivienda de León (IMUVI) in the development of the prototype development.

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Oppenheim Architecture has completed the Ayla Golf Academy and Clubhouse in Aqaba, Jordan, taking inspiration from the natural dunescapes and mountains of the surrounding desert as well as the architectural heritage of the ancient Bedouin. The 1,200-square-meter building forms part of a 44-square-kilometer leisure development, containing residential, commercial, and hotel space centered on the 18-hole golf course.

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As architects, we often find ourselves as defacto Project Manager on site throughout construction. Whether it’s a small or large project, many of us find ourselves going from documentation to construction. SiteSupervisor provides a seamless transition from design to build that can be easily set up at the beginning of a project without costing your team more transition time, effort and money. The architect can set up the hierarchy of the project and share relevant details with assigned consultants and contractors, who can then easily pass on information to the subcontractors without breaking the communication protocols in place. So, don’t worry, you still remain in control of your project at all times.

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The presence of Mexican architecture on the global scene is increasingly evident and strengthened by the ambassador architects who constantly represent Mexico in international events and exhibitions. Within these samples, you are able to see a constant concern to show contemporary values that denote a sense of responsibility, reinventing their own identity with the urgency of addressing current challenges.

Although Brutalist architecture is often criticized for its raw, unfinished look, it has been frequently used in the design of public buildings, with many becoming iconic landmarks. Some architects chose to break away from typical concrete structures and implemented a pop of color on the walls, window frames, and flooring, adding some dynamism to the monotonous palette.

Shot with a Leica M6 film camera, architecture and interior design photographer Luciano Spinelli photographed the Düsseldorf University campus, displaying the contrast between its brutalist architecture and vibrant design features.

Videos

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According to a statement published on the UNESCO page, the UNESCO World Heritage List is a legacy of monuments and sites of great natural and cultural wealth that belongs to all of humanity. The Sites inscribed on the World Heritage List fulfill a function of milestones on the planet, of symbols of the awareness of States and peoples about the meaning of those places and emblems of their attachment to collective property, as well as of the transmission of that heritage to future generations.

In 1991, the American Institute of Architects called him, quite simply, “the greatest American architect of all time.” Over his lifetime, Frank Lloyd Wright (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) completed more than 500 architectural works; many of them are considered masterpieces. Thanks to the wide dissemination of his designs and his many years spent teaching at the school he founded, few architects in history can claim to have inspired more young people into joining the architecture profession.

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Architect Bryan Maddock created a public research database dubbed Dimensions.Guide as a comprehensive reference for dimensioned drawings. Documenting the standard measurements and sizes of everyday objects and spaces, the database was developed through the architecture practice Fantastic Offense. The guide offers resources to professional designers, students, and the public as a way to enhance global collective awareness of dimensions in everyday life.

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Barreca & La Varra has won the “C40 Reinventing Cities” competition with their proposal for a zero carbon “Housing Sociale” scheme in Milan titled INNESTO, working in collaboration with Arup Italia.

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This article was originally published on Common Edge.

In recent months, two events have done more harm to the “brand” of architecture in the public’s perception than anything I’ve experienced in the 40 years that I have been in the profession.

First, there was the grand opening of New York City’s Hudson Yards, a massive $20 billion development on Manhattan’s far west side. This first phase opened after seven years of construction and included an obligatory gathering of “world class” architects—Kohn Pedersen Fox, Diller Scofidio + Renfro, SOM, The Rockwell Group—as well a folly by designer Thomas Heatherwick.

What could possibly go wrong?

Videos

Past, Present, Future is an interview project by Itinerant Office, asking acclaimed architects to share their perspectives on the constantly evolving world of architecture. Each interview is split into three video segments: Past, Present, and Future, in which interviewees discuss their thoughts and experiences of architecture through each of those lenses. The first episode of the project featured 11 architects from Italy and the Netherlands and Episode II is comprised of interviews with 13 architects from Spain, Portugal, France, and Belgium.

The goal of the series is to research these successful firms and attempt to understand their methods and approaches. By hopefully gaining a clearer picture of what it means to be an architect in the 21st century, the videos can also serve as inspiration for the next generation of up-and-coming architects and students as they enter the field.

Andrés Jaque is an architect, academic director, and author, who founded the international architecture firm Office for Political Innovation in 2003. Award-winning OFFPOLINN is based in New York and Madrid, and works on projects of different scales and media, intersecting design, research, and critical environmental practices. In parallel to his career as an architect, Jaque is the director of the Advanced Architectural Design Program at Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, and a visiting professor at Princeton University and The Cooper Union. The architect is acknowledged for his transectional approach to architectural design, "practicing architecture as the intervention on complex composites of relationships, where its agency is negotiated with the agency unfold by other entities".