After being shut down for more than a year, museums across the world are beginning to show signs of reopening. Most architecture and design events that were scheduled for 2020 have been pushed a year or two, depending on the severity of the pandemic in their respective regions. But while museums are open to the public once again, administrators have installed numerous precaution measures to ensure the safety of visitors and curators, and to avoid potential re-closures.
As international travels have been revived by government officials, and tourism is expected to recover gradually, read on to discover 18 museums and exhibitions that have begun welcoming visitors into their exhibition spaces as of May 2021, and the procedures required from the attendees before and during visitations.
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Azalea’s glossy marble and shiny brass capture natural light. Image Courtesy of Foglie d'Oro
Italian manufacturer Foglie d'Oro brings high-quality, responsibly sourced materials and precision craftsmanship together with as much expertise as the elements in its high-end parquet floors.
Popularly known as the lotus, the aquatic species Nelumbo nucifera has a useful particularity. Its leaves are self-cleaning, or ultra-hydrophobic. This means that no particles of dirt or water adhere to its leaf, which is especially useful in the humid and muddy environments where the plant typically grows. However, this effect does not derive from a perfectly smooth surface or a resinous layer on the leaves. The lotus is, in fact, full of tiny folds that reduce the area of the contact surface and repel all the particles that try to adhere there. The lotus effect has been studied by nanotechnologists in order to apply this same effect to products, such as surfaces, paints, fabrics, and tiles that can easily clean themselves. As trivial as this may seem, when we think of the resources applied to cleaning skyscraper glass or even of the reduction in photovoltaic energy generation due to dust on solar panels, we can get a sense of the infinite possibilities that hydrophobic surfaces could represent.
Nature, over billions of years, has developed adaptive solutions that are beginning to be understood by us with new technologies applied to the needs of areas such as the construction industry. When professionals such as scientists, biologists, engineers, architects, and others join forces and focus on understanding aspects of nature, with an empathetic and respectful view, the results can be impressive.
Located in Denmark’s Lolland-Falster region, Henning Larsen's New School in Sundby marked the commencement of a historic project for the country's sustainable educational-facility architecture. The primary school is set to be the largest construction project in Guldborgsund Municipality that ensures high sustainability parameters and community engagement. The school is expected to open its doors at the end of summer 2022, welcoming over 580 students in a nature-oriented premises.
Bjarke Ingels Group has unveiled the final design for Västerås Travel Center, a transport infrastructure hub bringing together multiple travel modes within one cohesive architectural object. The project's defining feature is a light, undulating roofscape unfolding across the various complex elements of the program that make up the urban node, creating a new landmark for one of Sweden's largest cities.
Whether made from natural or synthetic fibers, textiles have played a part in architectural design since time immemorial; however, it wasn't until the era of industrialization and advancements in technology that high-quality textiles could be made and utilized en masse. Most often, they have been used to enclose temporary structures like medical tents and emergency housing thanks to their mobility and ease of assembly.
Cloister of Green Light. Image Courtesy of iF Design Award
Architects from around the world are designing hotels that are sustainable and mindful of their ecological footprint, seeking to connect their guests more closely to nature. We are talking about a deep understanding that seeks to truly harmonize the environment of the place with the architecture to create a forgotten closeness to nature for urban guests.
https://www.archdaily.com/961851/eco-conscious-hospitality-architecture-meet-the-winners-of-the-if-design-award-2021ArchDaily Team
Almost 80% of South America is tropical land. In Peru, close to two-thirds is covered by the Amazon rainforest, more than in any other country. These landscape conditions give rise to unique living conditions, and in turn, shape Peru’s contemporary architecture. Today, new homes are built to embrace nature and create space for everyday life.
The 2021 Venice Architecture Biennale finally opened its doors to the public, on May 22nd, despite all odds and after two postponements. Presenting 115 different responses to “How will we live together”, the architectural exhibition gathered innovative answers from across the globe, all arising from a common determination to change the status quo. Bringing people who face the same issues together to partake in a vital exchange of ideas, the 17th edition has amplified the role and status of the Biennale as the biggest platform for architecture.
Onsite, in Venice, ArchDaily had the chance to meet with curator Hashim Sarkis, to discuss once more the ever-growing relevance of the biennale, different overlapping scales and fields, recurring qualities, and the international language of architecture. Hoping that “people will walk out of the biennale with a stronger belief in architecture as being a medium that can make a difference”, Sarkis in his third interview talks of a collective imaginary that can inspire new spatial contracts.
Following China's rapid urbanization and emergence of new districts and public buildings, MAD Architects, led by Ma Yansong, has won an international competition to design the new Zhuhai Cultural Arts Center. Their proposal, titled "Village Under the Dome", will be situated within China’s Pearl River Delta in the Yinkeng Village, a historic town that has recently been demolished and relocated by the municipality to make room for new projects. Instead of rebuilding over the demolition, their design offered a conservation and renewal of the village, creating a new function of the original site.
Text Courtesy of Reutov Design. Among the endless movement of millions of people and cars, you often want to get in touch with nature. Here is an oasis in the midst of a raging stream. The concept of the cafe, developed by ReutovDesign studio, combines a creative interpretation of modern design and natural style.
For the first time in the Venice Architecture Biennale, the island nation of Grenada presents the exhibition COethos, featuring its newest architectural landmark, Grenada's House of Parliament, together with a number of ideas for regenerating the city of St. George's. Curated by the Babau Bureau collective, the pavilion showcases the design and building process of the Parliament building, as well as explorations of the various possibilities of re-activating public spaces along the town's harbour.
Reflecting on the future of shopping centres and addressing their decline in visitors, MVRDV's Heuvelkwartier design proposes converting Eindhoven's Heuvel shopping venue into a green cultural quarter. The project brings together retail, culture and recreation, expanding the existing buildings while transforming the roofs into a park. The proposal also expands the Muziekgebouw with a stacked cultural building encased in a "glass mountain", creating a new landmark for Heuvel.
“Abandonment Copies” is a research project created between 2016 and 2018 by artist Sandra Calvo consisting of a film, archives, drawings, interviews, and a video display which was exhibited in the Mexican pavilion during the 2021 Biennial of Venice. The project highlights architecture as a reflection of the migration process between Mexico and the United States, comparing and contrasting the houses where migrants work in the US and the ones they build in Mexico with the remittances they send.
Recent years have seen an increased acknowledgement of the collective endeavour that is architecture and a better valuing of the different professions that participate in the design process. Within every extraordinary building, structural engineering plays an essential role in delivering the architectural vision. The article highlights the past and present contributions of engineering to the built environment, personalities that have stood in the shadow of architects delivering their design intent, and the collaboration between engineers and architects today.
Courtesy of Friends of Harvey Milk Plaza & SWA Group
Matt Hickman reports on San Francisco's latest inclusive memorial, for the Architect's Newspaper, designed by SWA, a firm that operates two Bay Area studios (San Francisco and Sausalito) as well as offices in Texas, Southern California, New York City, and Shanghai. Selected by FHMP from a shortlist of four firms that submitted proposals, out of 17 invited offices, SWA shared their winning conceptual design for the memorial at Harvey Milk Plaza.
One of the biggest names in Brazilian and worldwide architecture, Paulo Mendes da Rocha, passed away at the age of 92. As his son Pedro Mendes da Rocha reported to ArchDaily, the architect was hospitalized in São Paulo due to lung cancer and passed away at dawn on Sunday, May 23, 2021.
Paulo Mendes da Rocha will be remembered for the great formative role he had. His architectural creation debated life above all, raising questions and challenging ready ideas and conformity. He consolidated an influence short of language or aesthetics, formed mainly by the way of acting and thinking, in which each project was an opportunity for transformation. His ideas and designs overflowed the limits of the program, place and materiality, always bringing a new point of view to achieve revolutionary simplicity.
https://www.archdaily.com/962174/paulo-mendes-da-rocha-passes-away-at-92Equipe ArchDaily Brasil
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 are joined by Architect Toshiko Mori to discuss her moving from Japan to New York City at a young age, attending The Cooper Union for Art and Architecture, starting her own practice and VisionArc, witnessing the 9/11 attack, her design process, creating a temporary concert hall, and more.
https://www.archdaily.com/962165/the-second-studio-podcast-interview-with-toshiko-moriThe Second Studio Podcast
Talking to the Louisiana Channel, Danish professor, sculptor, and artist Bjørn Nørgaard outlines the philosophy that underpins his work and reflects upon his architectural projects. Nørgaard describes in the film, a co-production with Munkeruphus, the strong influence of his mentor in the 1960s - German artist Joseph Beuys - whose theories formed a key part of Nørgaard's evolution and ethos as an artist. The concept of "die soziale Plastik", or social sculpture, would go on to shape Nørgaard's approach to architecture and other forms of art - its main philosophy being that every part of life can be approached creatively.
This video uses the architect character from the movie Indecent Proposal — named David Murphy and played by Woody Harrelson — to offer professional practice tips. David Murphy engages in a series of risky business practices and repeatedly makes decisions that lead to glaring firm mismanagement. However, his most egregious oversight, and the real ‘indecent proposal’ is meeting a billionaire without cultivating him as a client. This error in judgement leads the wealthy businessman, played by Robert Redford, to purchase Murphy’s design right out from under him. In addition to the practical lessons for avoiding these pitfalls, the video also offers a character analysis that breaks down fundamental principles of Deconstructivist Architecture and other architectural references from the movie.
Chashitsu, which is the Japanese term for a teahouse or tea room is a construction specifically designed for holding the Tea Ceremony, a traditional Japanese ritual in which the host prepares and serves tea for guests. Teahouses are usually small, intimate wooden buildings, where every detail is intended to help withdraw the individual from the material disturbances of the world.
https://www.archdaily.com/962113/teahouses-reinterpretation-of-traditional-spacesClara Ott
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