Right outside of Rio de Janeiro lies Rocinha, the largest slum in South America. This informal settlement, first occupied by a community of farmers, has quickly developed into one of the most dense living situations on the planet. About half the size of Central Park in New York City, this favela is home to an estimated 150,000 people. With the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympic Games both taking place in Rio de Janeiro, Rocinha will become a hot topic in the next few years. Due to its small size, this project by Kyle Beneventi proposes an urban strategy to make Rocinha a very walkable city, dealing principally with voids to break up the blanket of uniform building mass. More images and project description after the break.

Aleppo is one of the oldest cities in the world. It has always been perceived as one of the most important and influential cultural centres far beyond Syria and the Arabic world. To live up to this fame the city has decided to open an international competition about the design of a cultural centre whose main program is to comprise in addition to a library also an opera and a theatre. This proposal by Marc Anton Dahmen / STUDIO DMTW is designed so that the volume of each of the three main functions, opera, theatre, and library, is optimally tailored to the specific demands of the respective utilisation and clearly visible from the outside. More images and project description after the break.

An art museum is a building or space for the exhibition of art. The idea behind this proposal by James Law Cybertecture, which was awarded a merit of honorary mention, is to create an architecture that becomes an art piece itself. To create spaces that are unique and flexible. The fluidity and formless spaces is designed to promote movement and interaction. More images and architects’ description after the break.

The ‘What happens to a design deferred?’ event, hosted by Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation (GSAPP), will be a presentation of work by Brooklyn-based architecture firm and 2011 MoMA PS1 Young Architect Program winners Interboro Partners by Tobias Armborst, Daniel D’Oca, and Georgeen Theodore, followed by a live interview for Young Architects Program’s oral history project by Th—ey partners Christopher Barley and Troy Therrien.

Should the Bohemian hotel be a vertical tower of 100 meter high? Or 100 meters long? Given the nature of the site, located in the gothic area, Comac proposed a horizontal design in the Plaza del Angels in front of the MACBA. Barret 001 is based on two fundamental principles: Firstly, to offer quality of life, enjoying the richness of the site by creating a public space and a sky floor over the Gothic area. The second objective is to create a shadow on the Plaza del Angels known for its burning heat. More images and architects’ description after the break.

In partnership with AIR, the architecture centre in Rotterdam, the International Architecture Biennale Rotterdam (IABR) is organizing five lectures on the theme ‘Making City’ which will run from September 13th to November 8th.

We are currently witnessing one of the biggest changes in the history of mankind. A revolution is taking place almost imperceptibly, the force and scale of which is unprecedented: urbanization. In just a few decades almost 80% of mankind will live in cities. More than 90% of our wealth will be generated there. And all that on less than 3% of the earth’s surface. Urbanization is inevitable, and that is precisely why it offers opportunities for a future in which millions of people enjoy a good balance between prosperity and environment, between economy and ecology. But those opportunities will only present themselves if the city is managed better, designed better, organized better, and planned better than it is at the moment. More information on the event after the break.

Navy Pier is the most popular attraction in Chicago, drawing nearly nine million visitors annually. Navy Pier, Inc., the newly formed not-for-profit entrusted with the redevelopment and operation of the Pier is conducting an international search for a Design Team to reimagine the Pier’s outdoor public spaces, or Pierscape.

This work at Navy Pier provides the opportunity for a Design Team to have a profound impact on one of the most important and visible public places in Chicago. Teams should have representatives from landscape architecture, architecture, urban design, communication and graphic design, lighting design, art curation, engineering, and other relevant disciplines. Navy Pier invites those interested in participating in this international search for a Design Team to respond to our Request for Qualifications and Design Proposals (“RFP”). More competition information after the break.

The Jøssingfjord Museum proposal, by Superunion Architects and Powerhouse Company, is both a testimony to the power of man as well as to the power of nature. They have conceived it in a few simple elements to create a roof that shelters and directs the light and views. Under this roof, all functions are simply laid out according to its most preferable position. As an underlying basis, a flexible orthogonal grid allows for future changes. More images and architects’ description after the break.

The Hinterland Urbanisms Symposium, curated by Felipe Correa of Somatic Collaborative, Assistant Professor of Urban Design and Ana Maria Duran, Loeb Fellow ’11, looks at the Initiative for the Integration of Regional Infrastructure in South America (IIRSA) as a point of departure for an ample discussion regarding the diverse models of urbanism that emerge at the intersection of resource extraction and regional integration projects (primarily through mobility corridors).

The symposium takes place October 7th and 8th at Harvard University Graduate School of Design. More information on the event after the break.

Boston Society of Architects (BSA) recently launched their lecture series which opens up on September 21st with Jeremiah Eck, FAIA as he considers a simple way to infuse sustainability and light in homes; Barnaby Evans does something similar for cities while Chee Pearlman enlists design for the betterment of humanity and Audrey O’Hagan, AIA looks boldly toward the future of the profession. All free BSA lectures take place at 6:00 pm at the BSA Space multimedia room (290 Congress Street, Boston). More information on the series after the break.

Located in a very rich part of Tripoli where street cafes are full, public gardens are lavish, and pedestrian pathways are bursting with everyday life, it is the perfect setting to tell a piece of Libya’s history. Therefore, the design strategy of Consolidated Consultants/Jafar Tukan Architects consists of embracing this rich surrounding for this history museum. More images and architects’ description after the break.

The concept of territorial architecture is a topic that questions various strategic understandings of complex site systems defined by conceptual ideologies, environmental implications, and identification of emerging phenomenal underlying patterns.

Borrowing influences from Zaha Hadid’s dramatic early paintings, the constructed landscapes of CJ Lim, and the writings by Sanford Kwinter, these investigations by Haecceitas Studio attempt to construct a series of methods, which will reveal the haecceity of multivalent landscapes. More images and architects’ description after the break.

Rice University’s School of Architecture shared with us their current lecture series that started on September 1st and runs until November 17th. Each year, the Rice School of Architecture pulls big names in the architecture world to its lecture series. This year’s main topic is JUDGEMENT in Architecture, with Neil Denari and Ben van Berkel on the list to speak among others. More information on the series after the break.

Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, Wal-Mart representatives and officials from the Office of Sustainability and Sustainable Atlanta announced today a competition to design an urban farm on a vacant lot across from City Hall. The Trinity Avenue Urban Farm Design Competition was launched to support the city’s effort in establishing an effective and inspirational model for urban agriculture and furthering the city’s pursuit of becoming a Top 10 sustainable city. In addition, as part of Wal-Mart’s initial funding, there is a $25,000 award to the winning submission.

The contest is open to students, educators and professionals across Georgia in fields related to urban agriculture and landscape architecture. Interested competitors must register online here by October 15 and submit proposals by November 1. Once the winning design is chosen, the preparation of the land and design installation will begin immediately, with the farm scheduled to open to the public by the spring of 2012. More information the competition after the break.

The Gulating Museum proposal by LETH & GORI is a design for a new museum building for the historic Viking thingstead Gulating in Norway. The museum building is situated in the middle of the grandiose mountainous landscape as a natural portal for visiting the historic site. The circular building provides an overview of the area and information about the rich history and culture of Gulating. More images and architects’ description after the break.

A large tree, whose leaves are drawings, a pond from which photos of projects arise, a large installation which recreates the mental landscape of Alberto Campo Baeza: this is CAMPO BAEZA. THE CREATION TREE, the third of the monographic exhibitions of NATURE, the series of four monographic installations in which MAXXI Architectura explores different interpretations of contemporary architectural investigation.

Co-produced by MAXXI Architectura and Acción Cultural Española (AC/E) with the special collaboration of TOTO GALLERY MA of Tokyo, the show, dedicated to the work of one of the masters of Spanish architecture, is curated and designed by Manuel Blanco. More information on the event after the break.

Personeni Raffaele Schärer Architects shared with us their competition proposal for an AquaPark in the Swiss Alps where they won the second prize. Located in an exceptional geographical context, the quality of the alpine setting was decisive in shaping the design of this particular water park. More images and architects’ description after the break.