The world has just witnessed the hottest months in recorded history, and the outlook is far from optimistic. Rising temperatures are driving greater cooling demands, threatening to trigger a vicious cycle of higher electricity use and carbon emissions. In a planet simultaneously facing unprecedented urbanization and a climate crisis, the intersection of building energy efficiency and cooling technologies has never been more crucial.
Throughout history, architecture has always been associated with the elite and the wealthiest echelons of society, who commissioned sumptuous buildings to satisfy their aesthetic and functional needs. This trend dates back to ancient civilizations: Egyptian pharaohs built pyramids and impressive temples, Roman emperors erected magnificent amphitheaters and palaces. Architecture was, and often still is, a symbol of power and prestige. Over time, the profession expanded to encompass various types of buildings and audiences, from simple residences to public and commercial structures, and the advancement of technology and construction techniques made it more accessible in terms of costs. However, inequality in access to high-quality architecture still prevails, especially in underdeveloped countries or socially vulnerable contexts. Many regions face serious housing, infrastructure, and urban planning problems due to a lack of resources and adequate investments, with poor construction conditions, slum areas, a lack of basic sanitation, and unsafe buildings.
Brick is a traditional building material that enhances durability, versatility, and the aesthetic appeal of building design. Used in construction for thousands of years, contemporary architecture explores creative ways to incorporate brick into design, combining it with different materials to seamlessly integrate the old and the new. Traditionally composed of clay, these rectangular-shaped elements are also heavy-duty materials suitable for use in both load-bearing and non-load-bearing walls.
Delving into lighter alternatives, thin brick –with minimum thicknesses of approximately 1/2 inch (13mm)– combines the technical and aesthetic qualities of traditional brick with the advantages of being lightweight and space-efficient. In various colors, sizes, and textures, thin brick can be applied to diverse surfaces, such as walls and facades, without additional structures. The Brick Industry Association showcases interior and exterior projects, developing practical guides and solutions for achieving the classic, timeless look of brick masonry, along with design flexibility and easy installation.
Tie rods are integral in structural engineering, primarily for transmitting traffic loads and alleviating compression forces within a structure. These slender components, resembling cables or metal bars, offer seamless integration into a space, lending themselves to visually appealing designs through repetition. They have applications ranging from furniture design to large-scale urban infrastructure projects, including suspension and cable-stayed bridges.
At 23.5 degrees north and 23.5 degrees south of the equator respectively, sit the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn. The 3,000-mile-wide band between them that wraps around the Earth is affectionately known as the ‘bean belt’. The tropical and sub-tropical climatic conditions inside the belt, as well as the high percentage of land over 1,000 meters above sea level, create the perfect conditions for the coffee plant to thrive.
In these regions across Central and South America, Africa, and Asia, coffee is one of the main national exports, becoming a large part of many national identities. So the interiors of the countries’ home-grown coffee shops can be just as rich and well-balanced as the coffee beans they grow. For people living in the bean belt, coffee is more than just a drink, it’s literally a life source. And at these coffee shops, it’s treated as such.
Violent cities result from social and economic inequality, which also affects the urban landscape and the way we live. In honor of International Cities Day, we have selected a series of projects to reflect on non-violent ways of using public space.
Highways, in their inanimate state, cannot be racist. However, the forces that located them and the consequences of their placement are inextricably connected to race. Deborah Archer, a law professor and civil rights lawyer, captures the central concept: “Highways were built through and around Black communities to entrench racial inequality and protect white spaces and privilege.”
In the new book, Justice and the Interstates: The Racist Truth About Urban Highways, editors Ryan Reft, Amanda Phillips du Lucas, and Rebecca Retzlaff explore racial injustice and the interstate highway system. They collect essays that address the dislocation caused by interstates. The book came out of a series of articles in Metropole, a publication of the Urban History Association.
How do we create buildings that use energy efficiently? Traditionally, efforts to green the built environment have centered on the physical infrastructure, often overlooking the relationships between people and space. The emergence of the technological era has ushered in "Smart Buildings." that employ machine learning and automation. These innovative structures are designed to operate with impressive energy efficiency, however, they are largely disconnected from their occupants. What if buildings could be made smarter and more sustainable by engaging with their occupants?
There’s something about the saturated hues of blossoming springtime flowers and the fiery, warm tones of a sunset descending upon a cityscape that brings us joy. Humans crave color. In fact, we’ve been fascinated by them since the beginning of our existence. So much so that everything from the color of our clothes to the brightly illuminated pixels on this screen is an attempt to recreate –and enhance– the vibrant shades present in nature, finding in them a source of inspiration and vitality. Our brains are wired to link colors with sensations and experiences: the lush greens of a forest evoke feelings of tranquility and renewal, while the deep blues of the ocean stir a sense of mystery and adventure. It is this ability to elicit emotion that makes colors an invaluable tool for architects and designers –and which also explains why trends are moving away from the once-reigning neutral minimalism towards a more maximalist aesthetic that embraces pops of color, dimension and playful texture.
There are several reasons why Colima is a Mexican state of relevant cultural wealth, one of them is due to its climate and orography where beaches such as Manzanillo and the Colima volcano are sheltered, facilitating tourism in this region. Moreover, the rich pre-Hispanic history signed on archaeological sites such as "El Chanal", "La Campana" and "Meseta de la Hierbabuena", as well as some important haciendas (farms) such as the Hacienda de Nogueras, Hacienda del Carmen and Hacienda San Antonio.
Sub-Saharan Africa is home to an enormous number of religious adherents – within which there is extraordinary diversity in religious expression. Iconic buildings serving a religious purpose are found throughout the continent, such as The Cathedral Basilica of the Holy Family in central Nairobi or the Hare Krishna Temple in South Africa. What is evident is that architecture that hosts religious gatherings makes up a key part of the urban fabric of sub-Saharan African cities and that in a lot of cases, religious structures go against the grain – leaving aside or tweaking classical models in favor of a unique architectural approach.
The ample supply, durability, and affordability of brick makes it one of the most widely used and iconic materials in Spanish architecture, especially within the Mudejar tradition. Throughout history, they have added both beauty and function to the spaces that use them, offering protection from the elements while also permitting the entry of natural light and air flow.
In recognition of brick's impact on Spanish architecture throughout history, we have created a compilation of contemporary projects that highlight its aesthetic and functional benefits along with advice from their creators about how best use this tried and true material.
Architecture is a transdisciplinary field. It incorporates principles and knowledge from several other disciplines to ensure a built structure functions as intended. This fundamentally involves considering the context in which a building is placed, including its immediate surroundings, such as neighboring structures, local biodiversity, and climate. Essentially, architecture only exists within a particular context. When we expand this context to a broader scale, it becomes what we commonly refer to as the "environment."
With a diverse and highly distinctive portfolio of projects, particularly notable for their innovative representations, the architecture office fala is marked by a bold, refined, and dynamic creative process. Established in 2013 by architects Filipe Magalhães, Ana Luisa Soares, and Ahmed Belkhodja, fala is headquartered in Porto, Portugal, and typically engages in projects across various scales, ranging from territories to birdhouses.
In September of this year, New York City experienced a severe storm that inundated its streets with more than 7 inches of rain in less than 24 hours, causing a number of roads to close, cars to submerge, and buses to get trapped. This event again highlighted the city's old infrastructure's inability to handle fast and heavy rainfall. As climate change intensifies, experts warn that such extreme weather events will become increasingly frequent. This vulnerability is especially concerning in densely populated urban areas such as New York City, where flooding risks increase due to the large amounts of impervious surfaces.
Through urban renewal projects, architects, urban planners, and designers can infuse new life into dilapidated urban landscapes by upgrading the infrastructure, introducing new functions into the urban fabric, and reimagining the character of open public spaces. These types of projects present interest due to their dual character: on the one side they offer an opportunity for reimagining the potential of the city, but the areas they affect are already well-ingrained within the urban fabric, raising challenges of integration and contextual adaptation.
This week's curated selection of Best Unbuilt Architecture highlights projects submitted by the ArchDaily community that enhance functionality, aesthetics, and sustainability of urban areas while respecting and embracing the existing fabric of the city. From a residential neighborhood that prioritizes self-sufficiency and circularity in the Netherlands, to a highway ramp transformed into productive spaces in California, United States, or a new elevated path designed to alleviate urban congestion in the harbor of Copenhagen, his selection features projects that highlight the ever-changing character of our cities. Featuring projects from both emerging and established architectural offices such as Benthem Crouwel Architects, Space&Matter, and Vincent Callebaut Architectures, the projects demonstrate the variety of approaches needed to adapt urban environments to the needs of their residents.
Façade colors are closely linked to place identity and help influence the surroundings and inhabitants of an area; they make it easier to safeguard and correct the use of color in urban areas. During the launch of their new color collection, STENI worked in collaboration with Scandinavia's leading expert in color and architecture, Kine Angelo, Associate Professor at NTNU, Department of Architecture and Technology, who has been working with color for over 12 years.
World Tourism Day is observed every year on September 27th. Tourists create itineraries based on a wide range of interests, such as architecture, gastronomy, or natural beauty, which are the most common choices. However, some travelers seek out hints of mystery and places with haunting histories. In a city as rich in stories as São Paulo, it's not hard to discover locations with a past marked by unsettling events, which have now been repurposed into cultural attractions, enriching the tapestry of the city's society.
Cities are the bedrock of civilization. For millennia, they have attracted people with the promise of superior standards of living — from better economic and educational opportunities to easier access to quality public infrastructure such as housing, healthcare, and public transport. Today, however, many cities around the world are finding it challenging to live up to this promise. With urban migration accelerating at a dizzying rate – the United Nations projects that over two-thirds of the world's population will live in cities or urban centers by 2050 – existing resources and services in cities are coming under increasing pressure, rendering them dysfunctional and leading to glaring inequities.
There is no singular way to define or assess liveability; every city has a unique set of characteristics, from its history, culture, geography, and demographics, to how it is governed and what urban issues plague it. Therefore, improving liveability requires concerted efforts from multiple stakeholders including people, governments, and experts, to identify critical problem areas and opportunities, and devise contextual solutions. The TV show Tale of Two Cities, where Indian architect and urbanist Dikshu C. Kukreja sits down with global leaders, brings out great insights into what some major cities in the world are doing to create more liveable environments for their inhabitants. Here we present five examples: from Bogotá, Kolkata, Hannover, Tirana, and Washington, D.C.
As urban areas around the world continue to experience population growth and increasing demand for housing, the land available for development is becoming both more limited and expensive. In large urban centers, many people deliberately choose the convenience and efficiency of compact living spaces in exchange for the benefits of city life, such as proximity to work, amenities, and cultural attractions. For others, however, the need to live in small spaces is a reality imposed by circumstances. In order to make construction feasible and increase urban density, builders and developers end up significantly reducing the size of rooms in homes, occasionally compromising the quality of life of those who live there. This has led to the adoption of various creative strategies to improve the efficiency of reduced interior spaces and provide greater comfort for occupants.
For over half a century, the open floor plan has remained at the cutting edge of interior architecture, with both new-build and renovation clients choosing to splice together rooms and their functions to bring more harmonious connectivity to their homes. Families, despite busier schedules, were able to cook, talk, study, and relax together, all at the same time.
As it can force users to share their space with competing sounds, smells, and ambiances, however, many are turning away from the open plan with new concepts such as the broken plan gaining ground. Another evolutionary route for the open-plan, meanwhile, is to move upwards. In combination with double-, triple-, or even higher-story living spaces, the open-plan is given the space it needs to breathe while staying connected to the rest of the home.
Water is a fundamental resource that sustains life, underpins agriculture, and fuels industry worldwide. However, water scarcity is becoming an increasingly pressing issue around the globe. Factors such as climate change, rapid urbanization, and industrial expansion exacerbate this situation. Among these contributing elements, water leakage remains an often underestimated and deprioritized aspect of water wastage.
In 2019, as the world was on the brink of facing one of the most significant pandemics in recent history, Ailton Krenak, a Brazilian indigenous leader, environmentalist, and philosopher, published a book titled Ideas to Postpone the End of the World. This brief booklet, comprising slightly more than 80 pages, came into circulation at a critical juncture, providing both reassurance and a cautionary message to humanity during a time when it observed the rapid evolution of history.
