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How to Achieve Higher Productivity in Archicad with Smart Selection

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Archicad 25 allows you to continue selections by switching between 2D and 3D views without reselecting items thanks to new and improved commands. Furthermore, you can also speed up your workflow by using overlapping elements and hiding the selected elements in the active view.

MVRDV and GRAS Complete Phase One of Project Gomila in Mallorca, Spain

MVRDV and GRAS announced the completion of five of the seven buildings of Project Gomila in Palma de Mallorca, Spain. The residential complex was originally comprised of four existing buildings, adding three new ones for a total of 60 new dwellings and new commercial spaces. The project aligns with revamping the historic neighborhood "El Terreno" as a vibrant and sustainable residential site, home of bohemian nightclubs that hosted iconic musicians such as Jimi Hendrix, Ray Charles, and Tom Jones.

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Barcelona, Joy and Order: The Natural and Artificial Endowments of an Exemplary City

CityMakers is working with Archdaily to publish a series of articles, conversations and interviews with the different actors of city co-production behind CityMakers Barcelona Lab 2022, an event that will take place from 14-18 November. On this occasion, Camilo Osorio, Architect and Master in Urban and Territorial Development at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia - Barcelona Tech, presents his article "Barcelona: Joy and Order. The natural and artificial endowments of an exemplary city".

Shigeru Ban on Inhabiting the Margins: “Anything Available Is Building Material”

From the 21st to the 25th of September, the Mextrópoli Festival + XII Ibero-American Biennial of Architecture and Urbanism took place in Mexico City. As part of the event, ArchDaily spoke with 2014 Pritzker Prize winner Shigeru Ban about the central theme "Inhabiting at the margins", a proposal that sought to make visible the work of those who are providing solutions to the growing social, environmental, and economic needs at the margins of the system.

The Second Studio Podcast: Interview with Michael Ferguson

The Second Studio (formerly The Midnight Charette) is an explicit podcast about design, architecture, and the everyday. Hosted by Architects David Lee and Marina Bourderonnet, it features different creative professionals in unscripted conversations that allow for thoughtful takes and personal discussions.

A variety of subjects are covered with honesty and humor: some episodes are interviews, while others are tips for fellow designers, reviews of buildings and other projects, or casual explorations of everyday life and design. The Second Studio is also available on iTunes, Spotify, and YouTube.

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The Science Behind the Resilience of Earth Architecture

Earth architecture is built on a far-reaching history. Its story continues to be told through aged structures that have stood the test of time. Across the world, indigenous earth construction techniques have been pioneered by many ancient civilizations. Communities originally built shelters from earth - the most readily available material to them - and have passed on their construction techniques through generations. Earth architecture evolved with a careful understanding of land and location. With practices perfected decades ago, it is fascinating to see earth architecture remaining resilient through adversities 

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A Woman Architect in the Mad Men Era: The Story of Natalie De Blois

On January 21, 1958, three women sat down as contestants for an episode of the popular television show “To Tell the Truth”, a quiz game in which a panel tries to guess which of the three contestants is who they say they are by asking them a series of questions. The announcer reveals the true identity of the person is a registered architect, has so far designed a Hilton hotel, and is a married mother of four. Each of the women, dressed formally in pencil skirts and blouses, introduces themselves as Natalie De Blois. As the panelists reveal their lack of knowledge about architecture, only firing off questions about Frank Lloyd Wright, one asks “What is the name of the building that was torn down to build Union Carbide?” The real Natalie De Blois, at the time a senior designer at SOM, firmly answers, “Hotel Margery.”

Architecture is one of the oldest recorded professions, dating back to ancient eras when builders designed historic huts and constructed some of the great wonders of the world. When we think about women who have been known as trailblazers of the industry, it’s astonishing that we often talk about women who we may interact with in the workplace day to day, or who our mentors may have learned from. Natalie De Blois was a modern-day pioneer of women in the design workforce, and although her legacy began only seventy years ago, it has significantly changed the way that women can participate in the profession today.

Carlo Ratti Associati Explore Energy Sharing with the World’s Largest Urban Solar Farm for Expo 2030 in Rome

CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati, together with architect Italo Rota and urbanist Richard Burdett, unveiled the master plan for Rome’s bid to host the World Expo in 2030. The project proposes a joint effort from every participating country to contribute to a solar farm that could power the exhibition site and help decarbonize the surrounding neighborhoods. The Expo is proposed to take place in Tor Vergata, a vast area in Rome and home to the eponymous university and a densely inhabited residential district. All the pavilions are designed to be fully reusable, as the area is proposed to be transformed into an innovation district after the event in the hope of revitalizing the somewhat neglected neighborhood. The master plan was developed with several partners, including ARUP for sustainability, infrastructure, and costing, LAND for landscape design, and Systematica for mobility strategy.

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2022 TAB Announces Record Numbers and Extension of Winning Installation Until 2024

Tallinn Architecture Biennale 2022: "Edible; Or, The Architecture of Metabolism" announced record numbers in its 6th edition after 3 months of exhibitions in Estonia's capital. From installations and a symposium to satellite events, the biennale received in its opening week a record of circa 3000 visitors between architects, planners, designers, and students from more than 20 countries. Due to the successful outcome, the Installation "Fungible Non-Fungible" will be installed until 2024 marking the beginning of the 7th TAB.

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Witold Rybczynski on The Story of Architecture

This article was originally published on Common Edge.

Witold Rybczynski’s latest book—he’s written 22 now, at last count—is The Story of Architecture (Yale University Press), and it’s as comprehensive as the title implies. The author of Home and A Clearing in the Distance starts with the ancients, works his way chronologically through the movements, buildings, and architects, and into the present day. It’s done, he concedes, through his own prism. “I have not given equal attention to all parts of the world,” he writes in the book’s Note to the Reader. “This is primarily although not exclusively the story of the Western canon. That is not to slight regions that often have their own unique architectural accomplishments … but I have chosen examples that best convey the principal thrust of the strain of architectural thought that has most influenced me.” Recently I talked with Rybczynski about the genesis for the book, what architecture lost when it abandoned ornamentation, and where we are today.

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Bathrooms with Curved, Handmade Shapes: The Zencha Bath Collection

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With its curved, handcrafted shapes inspired by Japanese culture, the Zencha bathroom collection by Sebastian Herkner soothes its users in a meditative way.

A Room of One’s Own Rooted in an All-Connected World

Multifarious experiences of cities are brought forward in Copenhagen Architecture Festival (CAFx)’s impressive Film Mosaic—from life-affirming experiences of cities as potential, if not real, spaces of play, dance, social exchange and community-building, to claustrophobic experiences of trapped, suffocating life. To the authors of this short reflection essay, a series of films depicting the latter kind, have made a powerful impact. Filmmakers from countries as diverse as Azerbaijan, Georgia, Canada, Uruguay, Tunisia, United Kingdom and Spain offer artistic expressions of how persons in today’s urban life may be unable to thrive, to differentiate themselves, to find rootedness, calmness, sanity or safety.

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Your challenge will be to present the latest innovations and trends in relation to the world of construction in a useful and attractive way, prioritizing technical and educational content.

Low-Carbon Strategies: Insulated Panels for Energy-Efficient Envelopes

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A 2022 United Nations report claims that the negative impacts of the climate crisis are mounting much faster than scientists predicted less than a decade ago. Rising greenhouse-gas emissions could soon outstrip the ability of many communities to adapt, and the consequences will continue to hit the world’s most vulnerable populations. As climate scientist Maarten van Aalst suggests, “Any further delay in global action on adaptation and mitigation will miss a brief and rapidly closing window of opportunity to secure a livable and sustainable future for all.” The data is clear: to protect our planet, we need to prevent a 1.5°C rise in global temperatures this century. To do so, the world must achieve a 45% reduction in global carbon emissions from 2010 levels to 2030, to then reach a net-zero state by 2050. It is evident, however, that we are on track to miss this goal by a substantial amount. The clock is ticking, and every industry should act fast (and drastically) to even dream of greener cities.

The Tallest Mass Timber Building in Denver, US, is Set to Break Ground in 2023

Denver-based architecture office Tres Birds announced that Denver’s tallest mass timber building is planned to break ground in July 2023. The 12-story building named “Return to Form” will be located in the River North Arts District in Denver, US. Its structural system uses mass timber, a new technology that utilizes small-diameter trees from sustainably managed forests. Through continuous planting and responsible harvesting, these forests are becoming a source of renewable and low-impact building materials. The mass timber structure is comprised of wood panels that are glued and laminated together. This provides not only strength and stability but also fire resistance.

Norman Foster Foundation and Arup Deliver Kharkiv Reconstruction Masterplan

Norman Foster Foundation and Arup office in Berlin schemed a master plan for Kharkiv, Ukraine, to guide future urban regulations and prepare professionals for the city's reconstruction. In collaboration with a local advisory board, the outline is defined by a series of pilot projects to develop aspects such as heritage, infrastructure, and rivers. The initiative follows a request from the Kharkiv Mayor to the Foster Foundation through the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, weeks after the Ukraine War started in February 2022.

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Recovering, Rethinking and Reusing: The Restoration and Rehabilitation Work of Sanmartín Guix in Barcelona

Sanmartín Guix, an architectural firm based in Barcelona, aims to enhance the value of the built heritage through rehabilitation and adaptation according to the needs of new generations, providing comprehensive architectural services as well as real estate advice. In this way, the conditions and aesthetics of the buildings are improved, seeking to adapt them to the requirements of all those who wish to visit or inhabit these spaces.

What Is a Pocket Door? Maximizing Space, Flexibility and Style

Once popular in Victorian architecture, pocket doors fell out of fashion in the mid-1920s and hinged doors soon became the norm. In recent years, however, a renewed interest in space-saving and design-forward solutions has brought pocket doors back into the limelight. What used to be an overlooked architectural feature is now becoming increasingly common in modern interiors, along with its creative flair and countless functions. These sleek, sliding doors can efficiently divide rooms, create seamless transitions, save space and contribute to a unique, sophisticated and stylish look. All of this while adding a slight touch of poetry to the home; sliding silently into the wall, pocket doors invite users to step through and explore what lies beyond, creating a strong sense of mystery and intrigue.

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Rethinking Cities' Relationships with Nature: Robotic Urban Farmers

In our current context of ecological crisis, global warming, biodiversity loss, human population growth, and urban sprawl, we need to rethink the way we build and live in our city. We have observed the consequence of uncontrolled urban planning and construction driven only by a capitalist and productivist vision of the city, packing as many humans as possible in the cheapest constructions available, without consideration for the impact on our planet, our fellow animals &  plants inhabitants, and our own wellbeing. The concrete jungles we have been building for the past century have proven to be disrupting our climate (Global Warming, Local heat island effect), our ecosystems (loss of biodiversity, and recess of animals & plants population), and our economy (the food and product industry have been displaced far away, replaced by the only service industry, and the generation of the huge amount of waste in the city).

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Darkness and Color

Architecture has always been considered a fixed entity in contrast to the ever-shifting appearance of Nature. Photography has dutifully followed this concept of immobility by trying to fix the ‘eternal’ presence of architecture as a memorable icon. In historical terms then, architecture and landscape coexisted in the humanistic continuum of inside and outside space to which Modernism aspired, as "extensions of man", in incidental and uncanny relationships of adjacency and reflectivity. My intention through my photography has been  to change this perception.

Community and Identity: Central Topics in Ephemeral Architecture in 2022

Staged stories on community and identity, ephemeral architecture showed that in 2022 it doesn't have to be permanent to be powerful. A direct and popped-up public installation can shift from preparation to action, reclaiming and defining what makes a community unique. Highlighting installations to acknowledge linguistic diversity in NYC, a giant table to celebrate culinary in Barcelona, and a large-scale net in Dubai to represent the local culture, among others, these initiatives seek to understand ways in which local and regional expressions can help cities to be more equal and diverse.

Globalization has connected the world boundaryless. While it has also made information more accessible, it has led to homogeneity and identity crisis at melding unique societies and cultural expressions. Cultural differences are undeniable as globalization grows. Hence, as architecture produces common living standards, it can also highlight singularities. Festivals, installations, and pavilions, 2022 was the year to express local memories to be recognized and celebrated, setting Community and identity as central topics in ephemeral architecture throughout the year.

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