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Contemporary Public Spaces: 11 Projects That Inspire New Ideas

Besides reflecting the aspirations of a society, public spaces also configure the scenarios in which new ideas of coexistence and the collective can emerge from their qualities. Thinking about the streets, squares, parks, and even nature is a way of dealing with common ideals and ensuring the social dynamics in the relationship between bodies and the environment.

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Exploring the History and Future of Parking Garage Designs

For every car that drives on the road, we need to find a place to put it- but are parking garages the answer? Parking garages are often seen as the antithesis of people-friendly urban planning. Large gray boxes are used solely to store cars that make temporary visits and seem like a poor use of space, especially in cities where land comes at a premium. Because of these garages, urban cores have quickly been transformed into parking districts, where vehicle storage dominates the aesthetic of a business district. Building codes only contribute to the problem, where the number of spaces is passed down as a mandate, even spreading out into suburban areas. Parking garages are everywhere- flanking shopping malls, connecting to residential towers, and surrounding sporting venues.

Less is More: Minimal Window Systems for Maximum Light

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Le Corbusier once described architecture as “a learned game, correct and magnificent, of forms assembled in the light.” Natural light –and its accompanying shadow– plays a crucial role in shaping our perception of architecture, serving a long list of functions that define how users experience, engage and interact with buildings. From illuminating and accentuating to enhancing views and evoking warmth, the presence of daylight has the power to set a room’s tone and aesthetic language. It even has a significant impact on human health and well-being, including boosting mood and productivity, regulating circadian rhythms and reducing eyestrain and headaches –it makes our lives brighter, literally.

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Translucency in 7 Projects of Contemporary Brazilian Architecture

The use of translucent materials in Brazilian architecture has been a growing trend in recent years. Translucent laminated glass, polycarbonate and acrylic are just a few of them. They have different advantages and disadvantages regarding cost, impact resistance, and thermal and acoustic insulation. What outlines the common benefit between them is the constant dialogue they provide between interior and exterior.

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Making Waves: 9 Private Poolhouse Designs

Residential swimming pools are nothing new, but they have become an unique component of modern living. Increasingly popularized, pools became a status symbol and a residential recreation element. Today, private swimming pools can be found across the world, and in many different climates. As more pools were built, so too were structures that could house equipment and pool amenities, as well as guest rooms or living quarters. These “poolhouses” were designed as spaces for accommodation, storage, and maintenance.

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Bucky Fuller’s Most Complex Invention May Have Been Himself

This article was originally published on Common Edge.

Today we know R. Buckminster Fuller primarily through his oeuvre of iconic objects and ideas created over the arc of a nearly 90-year life. Born in the last decade of the 19th century, Fuller lived long enough to hang out with Steve Jobs. He’s variously described as a “systems thinker,” perhaps the first “futurist,” a visionary, engineer, geometer, and architect (he won the AIA Gold Medal in 1970). But “inventor” is probably the most accurate description. Historian and writer Alec Nevala-Lee’s 2022 biography, aptly titled Inventor of the Future: The Visionary Life of Buckminster Fuller (Dey St. Books), tells a nuanced story of the man known for geodesic domes; space frames; “Spaceship Earth”; the Dymaxion map, house, and car; and concepts such as tensegrity, synergy, and “ephemeralization” (“doing everything with nothing at all,” as he described it).

Timeless Kitchens: The Intersection of Style and Functionality

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Appropriate fittings are as crucial to interior design as any other prominent feature, enhancing aesthetic appeal and providing the finishing touches to a space. Considered spaces where some of our most basic needs are met, kitchens are ideally designed to suit the lifestyles of its inhabitants, and can include customized fittings with diverse faucet systems, functions and finishes. Seeking style and functionality, we showcase a round-up of Dornbracht’s latest series of kitchen faucets, which seamlessly integrate cutting-edge refinements with timeless design to create versatile living spaces.

Brutalist Belgrade: Through the Eyes of Alexey Kozhenkov

Brutalism is a deeply dividing architectural style - a subcategory of the Modernist movement that featured bare concrete finishes, unusual shapes, and an undoubtedly unique aesthetic. Whilst emerging into prominence in 1950s Great Britain, the most iconic examples of this architectural style are arguably found in Eastern Europe - particularly in the territory formerly known as Yugoslavia.

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The Role of Shadows in Vernacular Architecture

Whenever light falls on a surface there will be a shadow, no matter how insignificant its focus is. The outline will hardly be visible, but other shapes will come to the fore in this play of light and dark. In the case of being projected by solar dance, a latent dynamic is added to the shadows that can be used to intensify everyday phenomena, breaking the monotony of space. Orthogonal openings in a long corridor or woven pieces in a courtyard are examples of constructive elements that create patches of light and shadow, bringing in addition to aesthetic delight and thermal comfort to its users. In this way, it becomes evident that these intangible elements are essential parts of an environment that, long before Louis Kahn declared the power of shadows, was already being manipulated.

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How Will We Illuminate Our Interiors in the Future?

As trivial as the act of flipping a switch and lighting up a room may seem, we've had to come a long way to have safe and reliable light sources. It is estimated that the first lamps were invented 70,000 years ago, consisting of hollowed out stones or shells filled with an absorbent material soaked with animal fat that could be ignited. The Egyptians, on the other hand, used decorated ceramic vessels filled with oil, which provided a constant flame. Candles were popularized during the Middle Ages, made of tallow (animal fat) or beeswax, and could be burned in simple candlesticks and chandeliers. It was in the late 19th century that Thomas Edison and his team invented an incandescent light bulb that could be mass manufactured and was economically viable, soon becoming the dominant form of lighting for much of the 20th century. Although it was a revolutionary invention at the time, we are now aware that these lightbulbs are not very efficient, and they were eventually replaced by fluorescent and, more recently, LED bulbs. But if we have already advanced so much in such a short time, what can we expect for the future of lighting, and more specifically, how will our interiors be lit in a few years or decades?

Glazed Façades and How They Protect Against Wind, Cold and Noise

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Higher noise emissions, higher wind loads and a desire for greater energy efficiency – the structural requirements for façades in multi-storey residential buildings and skyscrapers are becoming increasingly demanding, for both new builds and renovations. This is the result of the urban densification that is taking place in response to the acute lack of available housing and the more extreme weather conditions brought about by climate change. 

Glazed Facades: Increasing Access to Natural Light with See-Through Surfaces

Sunshine has been an integral part of life ever since the sun and the earth began their merry dance. The feel-good ambiance provided by natural light is a recurring theme in human culture, from popular music, fashion, and photography, to our most luxurious environments.

But our bodies’ craving for sunlight is more than just a feeling. Scientific research has proven it helps our bodies to produce more melatonin which aids sleep and reduces stress, vitamin D which improves immunity and strengthens bones, and serotonin which fights depression. As well as helping us to live healthier and happier lives, research suggests the sun also helps us to live longer, too.

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The Art of Human-centric Design for Healthy Office Spaces

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What’s more important, work or wellbeing? Should we have to choose? A ‘good work ethic’ –as in placing work before all else– used to be a badge of honour, certainly among generation X-ers who grew up with post-war parents and a recession to wrestle with just as they were getting going on working life in the 1990s. Today’s economic situation might present similar wrangles in securing a wage among their off-spring, so-called generation Z, but it is nevertheless this emerging set of workers that are teaching the rest of us that work at any cost –particularly that of our mental and physical wellbeing– should not be a life ambition.

Six Residential Projects With Large Glass Entrances

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A home’s entry is often its first impression, and modern architects are using large scale glass to create impressions that are dramatic, surprising, and uniquely welcoming. See how six architects designed unique entries for homes, regardless of size and location. 

Living in Pods: The Charm of Minimal and Portable Housing

“With the forgiveness of the master [Le Corbusier], the house is a machine to carry with you and the city a machine to which you connect”. That phrase was said almost 60 years ago by David Greene, the founder of the English group Archigram. He was speaking on the presentation of the Living Pod, a capsule house that could be transformed into a trailer. The idea was that the structure could be connected and disconnected from the cities, forming the Plug-In City. Designed as an airtight capsule, the interior was small and comfortable, with multiple compartments. The Living Pod was one of many similarly utopian and daring projects by this group that seemed to have a fixation on nomadic and mutant structures like the Walking City and the Instant City.

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The Science of Sitting: 6 Rules for Choosing a Comfortable Sofa

Falling in love is easy. When eyes meet tufting over a crowded showroom, the beauty of a sofa’s slender legs, soft fabric skin, and inviting curves are like a siren song, blinding you from the truth. Then, six-eight weeks after the night before, the bubble bursts.

There’s nothing better after a hard day than cozying up on a comfortable sofa. In fact, there’s nothing better after an easy day either. But what if that settee stunner you fell head over cushion for, isn’t as nice to live with when you get it home?

In order to avoid relationship pain (and neck and back), and ensure long-term compatibility, here are some rules for selecting the right sofa.

The Legacy of Jane Drew: A Trailblazer for Women in Architecture

In 1950, the famous Le Corbusier was asked to design the new state capital of Chandigarh for Punjab following its separation and recent independence. The opportunity to create a new utopia was unparalleled- and is now seen as one of the greatest urban experiments in the history of planning and architecture. The city employed grid street patterns, European-style thoroughfares, and raw concrete buildings- the zenith of Corbusier’s ideals throughout his career. But what is lesser known about the ideation and realization of Chandigarh, was the woman who brought her experience of designing social housing across Africa to the project. For three years, working alongside Corbusier, and helping him design some of the best-known buildings in Chandigarh, was Jane Drew.

Meet the Participants of the International Architecture Exhibition at the 2023 Venice Architecture Biennale

Since 1998, the Venice Architecture Biennale has been divided into three pillars: the national pavilions (each country chooses its own curators and projects), the international exhibition (curated by the Biennale's curator), and the collateral events (approved by the Biennale's curator).

In the 2023 edition of the event, the international architecture exhibition curated by Lesley Lokko is structured in six parts, including 89 participants. Over half of them are from Africa or the African Diaspora, with a 50/50 gender balance, and an average of 43 ages for participants.

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