Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) unveiled its design for the New York City Public Health Laboratory, a ten storey building meant to strengthen the metropole's capability to respond to a variety of public health issues and future challenges. The laboratory is organized within a cubic glass volume stepping outward, which rises from a masonry-clad podium containing community-related functions. In order to give the new facility an active role within the Harlem neighbourhood, the design incorporates a training lab and an auditorium available to the community.

"Here in the tropics, it's the shade not the stove that refreshes and brings people together," says Bruno Stagno about tropical architecture.

Guatemala ha estado construyendo su sombra a lo largo de los años. Nos encontramos con 3 ejemplos que proponen interesantes respuestas a este clima. Proyectos que materializan tanto grandes cubiertas con pendientes para dar sombra y evacuar el agua de lluvia con rapidez, como fachadas perforadas que permiten el ingreso de la brisa y la ventilación interior.

Some of the best architecture by today’s foremost practices is revealed as the World Architecture Festival (WAF) Awards announces its 2021 shortlist, celebrating buildings and landscapes to have been completed across the world between 2019 and 2021. The 200-strong shortlist has been selected from over 700 entries from countries ranging from China and Japan to Mexico and Ecuador.

This article was originally published on Common Edge.

Jeffry Burchard explores in his essay the "opportunity found by extending the life and purpose of viable existing buildings", that have shaped our cities. Arguing that "we have an abundant supply of buildings", the author proposes four essential steps to transform existing buildings.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has announced that Adjaye Associates and Studio Zewde's proposals have been selected to redevelop the unoccupied part of the Kingsboro Psychiatric Center campus in the East Flatbush section of Brooklyn. The $400 million project is part of the $1.4 Billion Vital Brooklyn Initiative, and will transform 7.2 abandoned acres in central Brooklyn into an ecological development with residential and commercial facilities.

Accompanying the ongoing Olympics, Pavilion Tokyo 2021 invited Japanese architects and artists, including Kazuyo Sejima, Sou Fujimoto, Junya Ishigami and Yayoi Kusama, to envision nine temporary structures to be placed in various locations around the National Stadium designed by Kengo Kuma. The initiative showcases experimental interventions within the urban landscape that illustrate a playful take on public space. Also participating in the project are Terunobu Fujimori, Akihisa Hirata, Teppei Fujiwara, as well as artists Makoto Aida and Daito Manabe + Rhizomatiks.

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By defining sexuality as one of several sexual technologies, Michel Foucault has expanded our understanding of sex. This way, the relationship between architecture and the body is shaped not only by the built object, with its various spatial mechanisms for the production of bodies, but also by thinking, in the form of academic discourse. And vice versa, since gender and sexuality also impact architectural theory. One way or another, these relationships are very rich and capable of expanding our knowledge about architecture and the creation of generic sexed bodies.

Archdaily had the chance to speak to SOM regarding the Transit-oriented development (TOD) projects. SOM has extensive engagement in planning, design and engineering on various means of conveyance, and TOD is definitely one of the speciality the SOM team has to offer. Through the interview, we will walk through the design strategies and their changes over the years of TOD Development, the challenges and new area of focus of TOD development, and most importantly, the interview will focus on the design strategy in developing TOD in China, where SOM has participated in many TOD projects, including the South Gateway of Guangzhou Central Axis, Guangzhou Nansha Pearl Bay and Xiong'an District Planing.

This week's reprint from Metropolis explores the ongoing renovation and transformation of an iconic site in Buffalo, Silo City, in order to create ambitious residential and public projects.

ZGF Architects has shared new visuals showcasing the main terminal of the Portland International Airport (PDX) in Oregon. Inspired by the forest landscapes of the Pacific Northwest, the terminal renovation and expansion emphasizes openness, light and connection to the region’s materials. The structure features a series of skylights and an expansive timber roof made from sustainably sourced regional wood.

Snøhetta has unveiled his latest project, the expansion and site redesign of the Joslyn Art Museum, in Nebraska. Developed in partnership with local architects Alley Poyner Macchietto Architecture (APMA), the project seeks to add new gallery space, public gardens, and outdoor spaces as well as restore and modernize existing office spaces in the Joslyn Memorial building.

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Claude Monet and Vincent van Gogh used the impasto technique extensively in their paintings. Both applied thick layers of oil paint over the canvas, usually one shade at a time, and it was up to the viewer's brain to mix the colors and create the desired effects. When dry, the paint forms reliefs and textures on the canvas, evoking a sense of movement. Even without being able to touch the screen, the texture of the brushstrokes gives a three-dimensionality to the painting, something that can only be fully observed by seeing the artwork live, looking at it from more than one angle and actually experiencing it.

In his famous book “The Eyes of the Skin: Architecture and the Senses,” Juhani Pallasmaa points to "a predilection in favor of vision and in detriment of the other senses in the way architecture was conceived, taught and criticized, as well as the consequent disappearance of sensory and sensual characteristics in arts and architecture." According to the author, "an architectural work is not experienced as a series of isolated retinal images, but in its fully integrated material, corporeal, and spiritual essence."

Foster + Partners has revealed the master plan design proposal to regenerate Downtown Atlanta's Centennial Yards site. The 50-acre proposal transforms parking lots and former railyards into a community-oriented and inclusive mixed-use development of state-of-the-art buildings, amenities, and public spaces. The project is part of a $5 billion urban transformation and is being designed in collaboration with architecture firm Perkins+Will.

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Büro Ole Scheeren has unveiled its design for a hotel resort in Cebu, one of the most popular destinations in the Philippines. Taking inspiration from the island’s natural landscape and traditional architecture, the project brings together lush greenery, pools and waterfalls within a volume wrapped in arches reminiscent of local structures. The design team describes the project as “a journey through the rainforest”, where architecture, interior design and landscape converge into a multi-sensory experience.

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The annual Prix Versailles awards, created in 2015 to promote a better interaction between the cultural and the economic, announced the 2021 World Selections celebrating 24 projects in the categories of Airports, Campuses, Passenger Stations and Sports.

The Chicago Architecture Biennial has announced the cultural partners, which will be presenting programming in the form of lectures, panels, workshops or performances within this year's edition. SOM, Studio Gang, the Museum Of Contemporary Art are some of the over 100 museums, architecture studios and community organizations involved in the event. The 2021 edition of the Chicago Architecture Biennial will take place from September 17 until December 18 across various sites throughout the city. The Available City intends to highlight the potential of vacant urban areas as collective spaces through interventions developed in close collaboration with the local community.

The first Shikinen Sengu was held in the year 690, in the city of Ise, Mie Prefecture, Japan. It consists of a set of ceremonies lasting up to 8 years, beginning with the ritual of cutting down trees for the construction of the new Ise Shrine and concluding with the moving of the sacred mirror (a symbol of Amaterasu-Omikami) to the new shrine by Jingu priests. Every 20 years, a new divine palace with exactly the same dimensions as the current one is built on a lot adjacent to the main sanctuary. Shikinen Sengu is linked to the Shinto belief in the periodic death and renewal of the universe, while being a way of passing on the ancient wood construction techniques from generation to generation.

The idea of creating a building that will have an expiration date is not a common one. In fact, the useful life of a structure is often given little consideration. When demolished, where will the materials go? Will they be disposed of in landfills or could they be reused in new projects? There are certain construction methods and materials that make this process easier. Others make reuse unfeasible, due to several factors. 

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Designed by Foster + Partners, Alif-The Mobility Pavilion at the Expo 2020 Dubai blurs the boundaries between the physical and digital world, and invites visitors to meet the historical icons of mobility, whose innovations helped pave the way for our modern-day technology. The pavilion features the world’s largest passenger lift, which will be able to transport 160+ people at a time, and a semi-underground-semi-open-air 330-meter track which allows visitors to see cutting-edge mobility devices in action.

This month, UNESCO has announced a series of decisions concerning important heritage sites, giving rise to conversations around preservation and urban development. Last week, the World Heritage Committee decided to strip Liverpool of its heritage status, as the new developments are considered detrimental to the waterfront's integrity. These projects placed the city on the List of World Heritage in Danger in 2012, a designation which Venice managed to avoid earlier this week, due in great part to the recent ban on cruise ships.

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Historically, industrialization means a process of economic change that transforms an agrarian society, with mostly handicraft techniques, into an industrial society to increase productivity and economic growth. This mechanization and mass production leads to deep social transformations, but the most significant consequence is an enormous change in the urban landscape.

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