The prime minister of France has announced an international architectural competition to redesign the roofline of Notre Dame Cathedral after this week's devastating fire. Prime minister Édouard Philippe made the announcement following a special Cabinet held by French President Emmanuel Macron on the reconstruction of cathedral. Philippe said the competition would give the cathedral “a spire suited to the techniques and challenges of our time”. So far, close to one billion dollars have been pledged to rebuild Notre Dame.

Brooklyn Point, the tallest building in Brooklyn, has topped out at 720 feet. Designed by KPF, the 68-story scheme will feature a mixed-use program of apartments, food, shopping, and entertainment functions. After undergoing a three-year design process, construction at Brooklyn Point began in the summer of 2017.

Perkins+Will has released details of their design for the Ransom Everglades School in Miami, Florida. The school’s new STEM building will feature flexible classrooms with mobile walls and furniture, and an emphasis on indoor/outdoor connectivity. The school’s role as a nationally-renowned center for science and technology will also be aided by tech-enabled educational tools, fabrication and maker labs, a rooftop outdoor lab, and an entire roof of solar PVs.

Jeanne Gang, Founding Principal at Studio Gang, has been listed in TIME Magazine’s 2019 TIME 100. Gang is the only architect be included in this year’s list, which recognizes the activism, innovation, and achievements of the world’s most influential people.

The recognition represents another milestone in what is a historic year for Jeanne Gang and her firm. In January, she announced her first project in France, with the Center for the University of Chicago in Paris, while the firm was also selected last month to lead the Global Terminal and Concourse Expansion at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago.

While French firefighters were putting out the destructive blaze at the Notre Dame Cathedral, another holistic site was also up in flames. Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa Mosque, which is among the holiest sites in Islam and was built almost 1,300 years ago, was struck by blaze while the monumental Catholic Church was also devastated with fire.

The fire is said to have started in the Al-Marwani Prayer Hall - also known as Solomon's Stables - part of the same compound as Al-Aqsa mosque and the Dome of the Rock. Fortunately, firemen of the Islamic Waqf department of the city were able to control the fire before any harm was done to the individuals or the other prayer halls. While the cause remains unknown, sources claim that the fire could have been ignited accidentally by children who were near the prayer hall at the time.

New technology in digital building, particularly Computer Numerical Control (CNC) systems, are changing the way that we design and build wooden structures. Their high level of precision allows us to design perfect assembles--without screws or visible metalwork--resulting in structures that are durable, easy-to-build, and extremely well-organized. We spoke with the experts at Timber to better understand the process of building a wooden structure and to compile a list of key tips in designing one.

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The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has unveiled the design of its pavilion for the Expo 2020 Dubai. The project will cover an area the size of two football pitches as the second-biggest in size only to that of the United Arab Emirates. Designed by Boris Micka Associates, the pavilion was made as a "window to the future" that symbolizes the nation's welcoming character, long heritage and unlimited drive.

Graphic designers Eurydyka Kata & Rafał Szczawiński from re:design have shared with us some of their most recent designs celebrating Bauhaus' 100th Anniversary. Inspiration for these posters was taken directly from Bauhaus' most iconic designs. "For this poster, we researched some of the most famous designs from the Bauhaus school: furniture, toys, appliances, and recreated them isometrically. Both the drawing style and colors are inspired by Bauhaus art and style. This was great fun to work on and we're glad we could pay tribute to one of the most important institutions in the history of design."

Videos

A new video by AERIAL FUTURES explores the potential of droneports in East Africa and the Global South. The Norman Foster Foundation was one of the first groups to propose the creation of a droneport network to deliver medical supplies and other necessities to areas of Africa that are difficult to access due to a lack of roads or other infrastructure. The project aspires to have droneports across small towns in Africa and in other emerging economies by 2030.

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For almost a millennium, Notre-Dame Cathedral has stood proudly on Paris’ central Île de la Cité, a symbol of the city’s history, culture, and romanticism. On Monday, April 15th, 2019, thousands who lined the banks of the Seine and millions more across the world watched on in a mixture of disbelief, heartbreak, and helplessness as the Gothic masterpiece burned before their eyes.

The fire has fortunately not claimed any lives but has robbed the landmark of its 19th-century spire, roof, and potentially priceless stained glass windows and interior ornamentation and artwork. At the time of writing, it appears that the main structure of Notre-Dame Cathedral has been saved and preserved, owed to the efforts of 500 firefighters deployed to the disaster.

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One day after the fire that partially destroyed the iconic Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, we are left to look back at the night of unfolding devastation, and forward at plans to renovate and restore the structure back to its former glory. The 856-year-old structure, which has survived riots, wars, and revolutions, sustained major damage as fire destroyed its central spire, 66% of its roof, and parts of its vaulted interior. Despite the alarming images and videos of the Gothic masterpiece ablaze, it appears that the main structure, and much of the interior, has escaped destruction.

While a full investigation into the cause of the fire will likely take some time, new details continue to emerge on the course of the blaze, and initiatives from the public and private sector to fund the cathedral’s restoration. Below, we recap the timeline that unfolded on the evening of April 15th, before detailing the plans to recover a building emblematic of the history of its city and country.

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Although James Blish’s “Cities in Flight” was not the first attempt to combine architecture and anti-gravity technology, it was in this book series that we can see it prevailing on an urban scale. Throughout its evolution, architecture has crawled out of caves, settled on grounds, climbed on pilotis, floated on water, stood high, and even danced. Now many argue that it is high time for it to move forward and assume some of its multi-directional and forthcoming probabilities.

The Midnight Charette is an explicit podcast about design, architecture, and the everyday. Hosted by architectural designers David Lee and Marina Bourderonnet, it features a variety of creative professionals in unscripted and long-format conversations that allow for thoughtful takes and more personal discussions. Honesty and humor are used to cover a wide array of subjects: some episodes provide useful tips for designers, while others are project reviews, interviews, or simply explorations of everyday life and design. The Midnight Charette is available for free on iTunes, YouTube, Spotify, and all other podcast directories.

On this episode of The Midnight Charette podcast, hosts David Lee and Marina Bourderonnet discuss the factors to consider when choosing an undergraduate architecture school. The two cover everything from program curricula to group dynamics, accreditation, faculty leadership, school reputation, student work and portfolios, course diversity, 5th year, job opportunities after graduating and more. The Midnight Charette also recently interviewed several educators and academic leaders on architecture education and their own work. If you have any questions or advice about portfolios or any other design-related topics, leave a voicemail at The Midnight Charette hotline: 213-222-6950.

Safdie Architects has completed construction of the world's tallest indoor waterfall in Singapore's Jewel Changi Airport. Featuring a lush indoor forest and a green trail of airport amenities, the Jewel Changi Airport was designed to reinvent the concourse as a public attraction. The project was built with a torus-shaped glass dome the includes an oculus at its center. Dubbed the Rain Vortex, the oculus allows water to cascade into the airport.

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The first architecture Biennial since Georgia’s independence was held in Tbilisi in October 2018, with an ambitious and diverse programme of exhibitions, installations and events. The Biennial transformed a vast microdistrict into an architectural playground, highlighting the particularities of the existing urban fabric as much as the temporary installations.

The 2019 Coachella Arts and Music Festival has begun with installations by Francis Kéré, Office Kovacs, and NEWSUBSTANCE in Indio, California. The festival opened to the public for its 20th year with a lineup featuring Childish Gambino, Tame Impala, and Ariana Grande as the headliners for the two-weekend experience. Over half a dozen large-scale installations have been built at Coachella featuring the work of up-and-coming artists, designers and architects.

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Adjaye Associates, Buzzo Spinelli Architecture, Hardel le Bihan and Youssef Tohme Architects have collaborated on a winning design for a new urban district along the River Seine in south-east Paris. The soaring scheme, developed by the “Nouvel R” team, features a 100-meter-tall residential block named “Tour Seine” and seven other buildings across a 100,000-square-meter site.

David Chipperfield Architects Milan has won an international competition for the design of a new campus for the University of Padua. Developed in collaboration with engineering company Steam, the competition challenged firms to design a new “PiaveFutura” campus of Social and Economic Sciences. Among the practices selected for the restricted procedure competition were Bak Gordon, Barozzi Veiga, Cruz y Ortiz Arquitectos, Foster + Partners, and Sauerbruch Hutton.

Continuing the series of articles developed by Nikos A. Salingaros, David Brain, Andres M. Duany, Michael W. Mehaffy, and Ernesto Philibert-Petit, in this article we'll be exploring how observations on social housing in Latin American have been approached from an outdated and antagonistic point of view. Notions and errors committed in previous studies  - in some cases simply by inertia - are discussed in the Latin American context, and propose adaptable solutions focused on the long-term, urban roots of residents.

Danish architecture firms Lendager Group and TREDJE NATUR designed the CPH Common House to be a new residential and commercial building in the Ørestad area of Copenhagen. The high-rise would feature recycled tiles and concrete with brick fractures, paneling constructed from recycled window frames and reclaimed wood flooring. In total, the design team estimates the Common House would make use of 17,577 tons of recycled waste material. The project was designed to be “the world’s first upcycled high rise” for its use of upcycled post-consumer material.

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Why use concrete in bathrooms?

Béton brut or "raw concrete" is a naturally porous material that provides many advantages for the design and build of a bathroom. As a waterproof and pressure-resistant material, it is easy to clean, doesn't deteriorate, prevents bathroom fungus and is low maintenance. Attractive as it is functional, concrete is versatile for both on-site furniture and wall coatings, floors and even shower trays. In addition, due to its thermal mass, concrete is an excellent material for floor heating.

Pro Tip: There are a variety of concrete finishes, but for the safety of daily bathroom users, you must add a surface sealer and a certain percentage of traction to avoid slippage.

Below, we've compiled 26 concrete bathrooms that find intimacy in béton brut.

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CODE - COmpetititons for DEsigners - launches “Italian Tradition Market”, a competition of ideas aiming to design the first market of handcrafted Italian excellences of Art, Craftsmanship, Food and Wine production and Areas on the remains of a 88 B.C. Roman Theater. A cash prize of € 10,000 will be awarded to winners selected by a well-renowned jury made of, among the others, Enzo Eusebi, Alfredo Häberli, Andrea Marcante (Marcante Testa), Benedetta Tagliabue (Miralles Tagliabue), Dong Gong (Vector Architects).

A two-stage international design competition recently concluded for the new headquarters of The Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences (KFAS), the country’s leading organization for advancing science, technology, and innovation. KÂAT Architects and Yalin Architectural Design were shortlisted as finalists in the second stage of the competition for their collaborative entry, a concept which anchors the future within the past. Drawing inspiration from the local traditions, climate, and urban fabric, the group places their design firmly in the context of its location in Kuwait City.

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