In the wake of the fires at Paris’ Notre Dame and the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, in the past years, we have seen many architects propose new ways of rebuilding these sacred spaces, opening them up to new possibilities.
In Europe and in North America, the maintenance costs and the disuse of sacred spaces have led to the eventual abandonment of churches, shrines and monasteries with great architectural and historical value. This opened a new opportunity for investors and architects to rescue and re-contextualize the historical heritage of these buildings. Below we present 15 examples of adaptive reuse in ancient churches--transformed into hotels, homes, museums, libraries and other cultural spaces.
Frank Gehry's long awaited LUMA Arles has finally opened its doors to the public. The stainless-steel-clad tower with a twisting geometric structure sits in a 27-acre creative campus at the Parc des Ateliers in the French city of Arles, housing exhibition galleries, project spaces, and the LUMA’s research and archive facilities. Over 45 world renowned artists and designers, such as Etel Adnan, Olafur Eliasson, Koo Jeong A, Carsten Höller, and KerstinBrätsch will feature their creations across the tower's 12 levels, making it a focal point for global artists, curators, and art enthusiasts.
A frameless window is exactly how it is described – a seamless glazing option that has no obvious frame around the perimeter. As a new design phenomenon, frameless glass panels are used for balconies, shower screens, glass doors, and bespoke conservatory windows, creating a ‘wall of glass’ effect, which is a hallmark of contemporary architectural design. Seamless glazing has a range of advantages, the first being the supreme stylistic feature it can create, letting the optimum amount of light into a room and provide a chic contemporary element to a building. Aside from the aesthetic appeal, frameless windows are simple and super-fast to install so homeowners can enjoy minimum disruption and lower installation fees.
Schoonschip is Amsterdam’s innovative circular neighbourhood, a community-driven project set to become a prototype for floating urban developments. With a masterplan designed by Dutch architecture practice Space&Matter, the project comprises 46 dwellings across 30 water plots connected by a jetty and features decentralised and sustainable energy, water and waste systems. With the last of its buildings completed this year, the development showcases a valid adaptation strategy in the face of climate change and rising sea levels.
Residência GAF/Jacobsen Arquitetura. Image Cortesia de Jacobsen Arquitetura
When designing homes, architecture is constantly evolving and adapting to environmental conditions. Each climate has specific needs and requires different solutions in terms of comfort. Hot and humid environments require a very different design from cold and dry environments. Natural ventilation, for example, is very important in projects located in warm climates.
The Cali Industrial by Futuris Architects. Image Courtesy of Futuris Architects
Housing is one of the core functions of architecture, circumscribing numerous typologies and encompassing a variety of issues. This week’s curated selection of Best Unbuilt Architecture highlights different forms of housing submitted by the ArchDaily Community. From urban developments to micro homes, from a deep connection with the landscape to high-end technologies, this article explores the topic of residential architecture, presenting different approaches from around the world.
Featuring a strategy to refurbish the typical urban block of Barcelona to accommodate senior housing, a net-zero energy tower in Italy and a poetics-infused villa in Greece, the round-up spans a multitude of scales and housing scenarios. In addition, a concept for 3D printed micro-homes addresses the housing shortage, while an urban development in India recuperates the values of traditional villages. The following projects reveal various ideas surrounding residential architecture in its numerous forms.
Our lives in urban centers have been completely upended over the last 16 months. As we look into the near future, some of us begin to experience the call back into our workplaces and experience the awakening of a long slumber of cities, it’s without a doubt that life as we knew it will never be the same. While some on the extreme end have been asking “will we even need cities?” (to which the answer is a very definite yes), how will cities change if we continue to move forward in this digital era of work and life that was accelerated by the pandemic?
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.
This week David and Marina discuss the typical architecture and building process, covering the phases and steps in most building/construction projects—what can be expected during each step, why the different phases exist, their typical processes, the documents completed at the end of each phase, and the outcome of each phase.
https://www.archdaily.com/963915/the-second-studio-podcast-on-the-architecture-and-building-processThe Second Studio Podcast
The world of travelling is a multifaceted one. There are the everyday trips one takes for work or school, commuting to a set location during the week, usually within the confines of a city. There are the longer trips too, the trips which usually involve getting into an aeroplane to visit someplace a bit farther from where the traveller usually resides. These trips are frequently done for business purposes, but for those who have the means to afford it, these trips are undertaken for learning and leisure – where the traveller can be defined as a “tourist”.
This video introduces and defines common architecture terms from A to Z. It is no secret that architecture is full of jargon. This can be the subject of jokes and memes but it can also lead to confusion and frustration. The reliance on jargon is somewhat forgivable — the task of translating complex spatial, geometric, and compositional principles into verbal language is difficult. However, it means that one must invest in learning the language to fully grasp written and verbal communication about buildings. This video helps by providing definitions for 26 common architectural terms in alphabetical order. Terms include aesthetic, buttress, circulation, diagrammatic, enfilade, fenestration, geodesic, hierarchy, iconic, jamb, kitsch, legibility, morphology, node, ornament, program, quoin, rustication, stereotomy, tectonics, urbanism, yurt, and zeitgeist. Armed with this fundamental vocabulary, you’ll be able to keep up with any architectural conversation.
Madame Architect, the platform dedicated to the built environment and to the empowerment, advancement, and visibility of the women who work in it, has just reached a milestone, publishing over 250 interviews with the females who shape our world. “Designed to break the architect’s mold”, the website was founded 3 years ago by Julia Gamolina, an architect that shaped her own path in the field, becoming Director of Strategy at Trahan Architects, focusing on the business, its development, growth, and evolution.
Archdaily's Christele Harrouk had the chance to speak to Julia Gamolina, Founder, Editor-in-Chief of Madame Architect, and one of Professional Women in Construction's "20 Under 40", to discuss her career choices, the online magazine, the business of architecture and communication.
Valentino Gareri Atelier have joined forces with technology and wellness consultant Steve Lastro of 6Sides and global wellness real estate innovators Delos to create Sunflower Village, a humanistic and sociological approach to residential technology & community living. The proposed residential village includes 19 homes arranged in a sunflower composition that 'follows the sun'.
Work has begun for MVRDV's renovation of Shenzen Women & Children Centre, a mixed-use tower featuring an array of public functions, now in need of a comprehensive transformation. Constructed during the city's explosive growth following the Special Economic Zone designation in the 1980s, the building is one of the many nearing the end of their initial lifespan, and MVRDV's adaptive re-use project sets an important precedent for repurposing these buildings by bringing colour, greenery and a new layer of public spaces.
In the hilly landscape of Blumenau, a city located in the state of Santa Catarina, in southern Brazil, stands a gem of modern religious architecture by Gottfried Böhm, who recently passed away at the age of 101: the Mother Church of São Paulo Apóstolo, built from 1953 to 1963.
The São Paulo Apóstolo Church was built before the São Luiz Gonzaga Church in Brusque - two religious temples designed by Böhm with the office he inherited from his father, the architect Dominikus Böhm (1880-1955).
In this week's reprint, author Walter Jaegerhaus explores the U.S. housing challenge, drawing a timeline of the evolution of different architectural solutions, from around the world. Seeking to "inspire designers today to create new housing options", and hoping "that the U.S can again embrace its experimental origins and try out new ideas and methods", the article highlights examples from Europe and the Americas.
London Design Biennale 2021 Medal: Chile - Tectonic Resonances. Image Courtesy of ER
The jury of the London Design Biennale 2021 has announced today June 24 the winning pavilions to the third edition. Responding to artistic director and curator Es Devlin's theme ‘Resonance’, the Biennale brings together over 30 pavilions to showcase how design can provide solutions to the challenges of our times, from sustainability to globalization, to migration to the future of humanity.
“The winners of the 2021 London Design Biennale Medals truly illustrate the importance of design thinking to help bring social change and economic growth across the world," said John Sorrell, President of the London Design Biennale. While Victoria Broackes, Director of the London Design Biennale, stated the winners "clearly demonstrate how brilliant design can be in telling complex stories that communicate directly to hearts and minds."
Ghana's architecture has long been tied to local building materials. From traditional thatch roofs and mud walls to contemporary concrete and glass structures, the country's built environment is a refection of the surrounding context. This is true for urban and rural projects alike, and as new educational buildings are created across Ghana, these spaces reflect the country's landscape as they look to the future of learning.
Responding to artistic director and curator Es Devlin's theme ‘Resonance’, designers from different countries, territories, and cities showcased how they envision new perspectives and solutions to global issues, exploring topics such as sustainability and the environment, globalization, migration, and the future of humanity. The diversity of the contributing curators was not only present in the solutions they presented, but in how they displayed them as well. While some opted for the tactile experience of exploring natural elements, others relied on one of the most prominent themes of the 21st century: digitalization and the virtual world.
Completed in 2020, amidst the pandemic, ANOHA- The Children’s World designed by Olson Kundig for the Jewish Museum in Berlin is finally opening its doors to the young public. The design reinterprets the myth of Noah’s Ark and furthers the concept and ideas of a similar installation at Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles, created by the firm then named Olson Sundberg Kundig Allen. More than a museum experience, the project is a space for community building, a place for imagination and play that enacts a universal story, creating an inclusive environment for children and families of all cultures and backgrounds.
The European Award for Architectural Heritage Intervention, a biennial award organized by the COAC (Association of Architects of Catalonia) and the AADIPA (Association of Architects for the Defence and Intervention in Architectural Heritage), has announced the winners of its fifth edition.
Architecture firms Topotek 1, Johannes Kappler Architektur und Städtebau, and Super Future Collective have released new images for the Nuremberg Concert Hall. While the project is on hold due to the pandemic, the competition-winning design was made as an addition to the ensemble of the Meistersingerhalle. The project is driven by the 1960s architecture of the existing building, and will address acoustic issues to provide a world-class space for performance.
Architecture firm NBBJ have unveiled the design of The Net, a next generation office tower in Seattle that fosters wellness and community. The firm's proposal comes as an answer to the problematics that high-rise buildings impose on individuals and urban spaces, such as lack of communal integration and the difficulties of accessing fresh air from the outdoors due to mechanical ventilation systems imposed on the facades.
inHAUS By FSA – Houses Collection / Fran Silvestre Arquitectos
Clear structures, restrained colors, and natural grace characterize the innovative residential building concepts that delighted members of the 2021 iF Design Awards jury. The awards were granted to impressive ideas that created a visual symbiosis with nature, among other concepts. These are residential buildings that fit casually into their natural surroundings—as if they themselves had emerged from their environment.
https://www.archdaily.com/963549/innovative-residential-buildings-and-concepts-meet-the-winners-of-the-if-design-award-2021Sponsored Post
A geographic discovery game based on Google imagery, GeoGuessr requires players to guess various locations worldwide using only the clues provided by a Street view. Created in 2013, the game has taken on new relevance amidst the pandemic, as it provides a virtual travel experience. From desolate roads to famous sites, the game teases deductive reasoning, requiring players to make use of any clue, from signs, language, flags, landscape, to pinpoint their surroundings.
_ADRIAN_DEWEERDT_(4).jpg?1624868699 "© Adrian Deweerdt")
_ADRIAN_DEWEERDT_(1).jpg?1624868918 "© Adrian Deweerdt")
