In the most fundamental sense, it can be said that architecture emerged due to the basic human need for shelter. The construction of the primitive hut was realized long before the conceptual Primitive Hut was described by Marc-Antonie Laugier and drawn by Charles Eisen in 1755. Laugier theorized that man wants nothing but shade from the sun and shelter from storms- the basic requirements of a human for protection from the elements. The pieces of wood that are raised perpendicularly give us the idea of columns, the horizontal pieces laid across them give us the idea of entablatures, and the branches that form a sloping incline are covered with leaves and give us the first roof. Although humans have been inhabiting the earth for millions of years, why was it only 265 years ago that Laugier’s theory was penned and made into an architectural cannon?

The Fundació Mies van der Rohe is proposing more than a hundred activities to enjoy at home part of this year’s Barcelona Architecture Week 2020. Designed with and for everyone, the fourth edition of this event starts on Thursday 7 May and offers over a hundred activities adapted into a virtual format. Events include including streamed talks and meetings, debates, and virtual tours of various spaces in the city, to name a few.

3XN has won a competition for the design of an innovation center for health and life science companies, called "Forskaren". Providing office spaces, restaurants, cafes, and an exhibition area, the 24,000 sqm building is designed with the highest sustainability standards in mind and will pursue LEED Platinum certification.

Located between the Karolinska University Hospital and the old Stockholm city hospital, the new Center will become a part of Hagastaden district and play a major role in the development of world-class research in health, life science and treatment, attracting new talents with exciting opportunities as a hub for different scale companies of the industry.

Toronto's new Quayside smart city development by Sidewalk Labs has been cancelled. CEO Daniel L. Doctoroff announced in a Medium post that the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has made the prototype no longer viable. As the subsidiary of Google's parent company Alphabet, Sidewalk Labs aimed to "unlock the potential" of the city’s Eastern Waterfront.

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X-Architects’ entry for the Desert Resort Competition, generated a luxury 60 keys desert hideaway resort, in an ultra-harsh and empty environment. Placed in Rub’ Al Khali, the world’s biggest sand sea located in the KSA, the project addresses the challenging design in desert-like surroundings.

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Videos

Expo 2020 Dubai has been postponed and will be held from 1 October 2021 to 31 March 2022. The decision has been declared after the two-thirds majority of the votes was surpassed within a week of voting, opening on 24 April.

The Australian Institute of Architects has announced John Wardle as the winner of the 2020 Gold Medal. Wardle was recognized for his iterative design process and attention to craft, as well as his collaborations with artists and craftspeople. His firm's portfolio of work includes both national and international projects, as well as his contribution to the 16th International Biennale Architettura in Venice.

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Videos

Dissociating architecture from furniture is almost impossible. As Le Corbusier parking contemporary cars in his project photos suggests, the objects that decorate a domestic space demonstrate the wealth and lifestyle of the user who lives in it. From the moment that humanity ceased to be nomadic, there has existed records of rudimentary furniture. In an excavated site dating from 3,100 to 2,500 BCE, a variety of stone furniture was discovered, from cabinets and beds to stone shelves and seats. Since these early examples, furniture has always been used to express ideas: be it the exclusive and luxurious furniture of Ancient Egypt, meant to demonstrate the power and wealth of the empire, to the functional and simplified designs of the Bauhaus, meant to reconstruct rationality in the world, studying the evolution of furniture design is instrumental to understanding architectural styles.

Nowadays, the advancement of technology and the internet has made changes develop faster and faster, making them even more difficult to assimilate and follow. Furniture follows this trend, be it in the way of designing, manufacturing, or even selling products. Below, we outline some ways in which technology has impacted this field:

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With the COVID-19 pandemic sweeping through the world's urban centers, governments worldwide are urging citizens to hunker down at home in a bid to quell the virus' spread. For apartment dwellers under quarantine, balconies have become the new platforms for entertainment and social interaction, making now an opportune moment in rethinking how we design and build these outdoor urban spaces.

Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates (KPF) has just announced the groundbreaking of Platform 16, an office campus in Downtown San Jose, California. Comprising three-buildings, the 1,200,000-square-foot project is an innovative complex that favors indoor and outdoor connections.

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CHYBIK + KRISTOF Architects have unveiled their 3rd prize concept in the competition to design the new Senezh Management Lab campus in Russia. Located in a lakeside town on the outskirts of Moscow, the competition invited teams to propose a site-specific and forward-thinking masterplan for the 82-hectare educational campus. The design was made to rethink Constructivist educational theory and anchor learning in the natural environment.

Videos

Architects, not Architecture decided to open their archive to help us cope with the current situation of not being able to go out as usual and create a source of inspiration and entertainment through sharing one of the unique talks from their previous 35 events, which have never been published before – including those of architects like Daniel Libeskind, Tatiana Bilbao, Sadie Morgan, Peter Cook, Richard Rogers and Massimiliano Fuksas.

Every week, Archdaily will be sharing one of the Architects, not Architecture. talks which they are currently publishing online in the form of daily full-length video uploads as part of their “new event”: Home Edition 2020 (www.architectsnotarchitecture.com).

Americas Society NY in collaboration with Center for Architecture (AIANY) launches a new architecture initiative: IN SITU_Conversations on Architecture and Beyond curated by Agustin Schang and Laura Gonzalez Fierro.

This new series of weekly Instagram posts invites architects and thinkers to contribute their spatial ideas and thoughts around the inside, the outside, and the in-between space(s). In a moment when a large amount of the world population is locked down, forced to negotiate between isolation, interiority, and connectivity in unprecedented ways–we urge to rethink: How are we navigating this crisis spatially? How are we shaping this new everyday experience across the Americas and the world at large? Where is the architecture discipline today, how is it transforming, and how is it going to help shape a better world for the future?

Cities used to be hailed for cultural diversity, with thriving and resonating dynamism. But today, scenes of desperation reigns, as stores are closed, streets rendered lifelessly and -from our homes, we no longer enjoy urban economic vibrancy. As numerous businesses are facing bankruptcy, others realise that -with technology, working 100km or 5km away makes no difference. The coronavirus brought our urban economy to a standstill. The functioning of cities is being re-questioned.  How we react to this crisis will shape the city for decades to come.

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Throughout human history, the movement of populations–in search of food, shelter, or better economic opportunities–has been the norm rather than the exception. Today, however, the world is witnessing unprecedented levels of displacement. The United Nations reports that 68.5 million people are currently displaced from their homes; this includes nearly 25.4 million refugees, over half of whom are under the age of eighteen. With conflicts raging on in countries like Syria and Myanmar, and climate change set to lead to increased sea levels and crop failures, the crisis is increasingly being recognised as one of the foundational challenges of the twenty-first century.

While emergency housing has dominated the discourse surrounding displacement in the architecture industry, it is critical for architects and planners to study and respond to the socio-cultural ramifications of population movements. How do we build cities that are adaptive to the holistic needs of fluid populations? How do we ensure that our communities absorb refugees and migrants into their local social fabric?

This World Refugee Day, let’s take a look at 5 shining examples of social infrastructure from around the world–schools, hospitals, and community spaces–that are specifically directed at serving displaced populations.

Paris, just like Milan, is planning on keeping its streets car-free after the coronavirus lockdown. Mayor Anne Hidalgo announced plans to maintain the anti-pollution and anti-congestion measures introduced during the confinement period, as the city reopens.

Paul Clemence has just released his latest photographs of the Studio Gang-designed 11 Hoyt tower in Downtown Brooklyn, New York. Almost completed, the residential development is characterized by an eye-catching crafted precast concrete and glass façade.

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Architecture and design practice Terroir has unveiled a new proposal for the North West Museum and Art Gallery in Burnie, Tasmania. Designed to house both the city's Regional Art Gallery and Museum, the project will be sited along the Bass Highway.As Burnie City Council states, the NWMAG will showcase the region’s natural environment, its history and heritage, as well as the communities shaping the city's future.

It is a student's right to be educated in a safe, healthy, and even aesthetically appealing environment, especially young students for whom these factors are even more important. For example, it has been shown that when the ergonomics of chairs are inadequate, they can greatly affect levels of concentration and the development of skills such as calligraphy. At the same time, the effectiveness of traditional teaching methods is increasingly being questioned and the quality of alternative methodologies increasingly being considered. In other articles, we discussed in more detail the design of Montessori schools and the atmosphere of Waldorf interiors.

Today, we will cover the importance of choosing furniture and address some aspects to consider when organizing them in classroom design for the schools of the future.

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